THE  KANSAS  CONFLICT 


BY 

CHARLES    ROBINSON 

LATK  GOVERNOR  OF  KANSAS 


LAWRENCE,   KANSAS 

JOURNAL    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

1898 


Copyright,  1892,  by  CHARLES  ROBINSON. 

All  rights  reserved. 


TO 

ELI    THAYER 

WHO   CONCEIVED    AND   EXECUTED   THE   PLAN   OF  ORGANIZED 

EMIGRATION   BY  WHICH  A  FREE  STATE   IN   KANSAS  WAS  MADE  POSSIBLE 

AND  TO   HIS  CO-OPERATORS  IN  THE  STATES;   AND   ALSO 

TO 

THE    MEMBERS    OF   THE    FREE    STATE    PARTY 

BY  WHOSE  COURAGE,  FIRMNESS,  PRUDENCE,   SAGACITY 

AND    SUFFERING    WAS    ACHIEVED    A   VICTORY   AGAINST    OPPRESSION 

SECOND    TO    NONE    IN    THE   ANNALS   OF    HISTORY 


PREFACE. 

AN  apology  may  be  due  to  the  reading  public  for  submit- 
ting to  it  the  pages  that  follow.  In  an  address  before  the 
Kansas  State  Historical  Society,  on  retiring  from  the  office 
of  president,  in  the  winter  of  1 88 1 ,  I  said : 

"  The  time  for  writing  the  true  history  of  Kansas  has  not 
yet  arrived,  and  will  not  arrive  till  the  historian  shall  be  so 
far  removed  from  the  actors  and  passions  of  the  hour  as  to 
be  able  to  survey  calmly  the  whole  field,  and  to  discern 
clearly,  not  only  events,  but  causes  and  effects  as  well. 
Distance  lends  enchantment  to  a  view,  and  clearness  to  the 
vision  of  the  historian.  A  corporal  might  narrate  with  ac- 
curacy the  exploits  of  his  foraging  squad,  but  he  would  be 
a  poor  historian  even  of  his  company.  The  part  he  played 
with  his  squad  would  be  more  important  to  him  than  all  the 
other  exploits  of  the  larger  body,  however  brilliant,  and,  in 
fact,  would  prevent  him  from  seeing  what  his  comrades  were 
doing.  The  colonel  of  a  regiment  might  relate  with  great 
fidelity  the  achievements  of  his  regiment,  but  he  in  turn 
would  be  a  poor  historian  of  the  brigade.  A  general  of 
brigade  or  division  might  be  well  qualified  to  furnish  facts 
connected  with  his  immediate  command,  but  the  more  strictly 
he  attended  to  his  own  duties  the  less  would  he  be  compe- 
tent to  write  the  history  of  the  army.  So  the  General-in-chief 
could  tell  accurately,  perhaps,  of  the  movements  which  he 
had  ordered  and  which  had  been  made  according  to  his 
direction,  but  before  a  true  history  of  the  war  could  be  writ- 


vi  PREFACE. 

ten,  the  powers  behind  the  General  must  be  consulted.  The 
War  Secretary,  the  C'ominander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces,  the 
Congress  that  directs  the  commander,  the  people  who  make 
the  Congress,  with  the  influences  and  motives  that  con- 
trol the  people  themselves — must  all  be  taken  into  the  ac- 
count. 

"  The  actors  in  any  struggle  are  unfitted  to  be  the  histo- 
rians of  that  struggle,  and  this  unfitness  extends  to  all  their 
sympathizers  and  partisans.  Should  an  actor  attempt  to 
write  history,  the  attempt  would  necessarily  result  in  magnify- 
ing the  part  he  had  acted  or  witnessed,  at  the  expense  of  all 
others,  while  a  sympathizer  or  partisan  would  be  incapable 
of  treating  all  the  actors  with  impartiality.  The  worst  of 
all  historians  is  he  who  selects  his  own  hero,  and  makes  all 
events  revolve  about  him,  as  the  planets  around  the  sun. 
Such  a  person  may  write  tolerable  romance  or  fiction  founded 
on  fact,  but  history,  never." 

This  being  my  belief,  I  make  no  pretense  that  this  book, 
while  it  gives  the  conflict  in  Kansas  from  my  point  of  view, 
is  a  complete  history  of  that  struggle.  It  is  written  for  two 
reasons :  The  first  is  the  importunity  of  persons  who  were 
actors  or  sympathizers  in  making  a  free  State  of  Kansas ; 
and  the  second,  that  no  writer  thus  far  has  taken  the  view 
that  seems  to  me  the  true  one  of  the  movements  made  by 
the  Free-State  party,  and  of  the  causes  and  reasons  for  the 
same.  In  May,  1868,  Hon.  1).  W.  Wilder,  who  has  always 
taken  a  deep  interest  in  Kansas  history,  wrote  asking  for  a 
paper  upon  this  subject,  saying:  "The  point  I  aim  at  is  to 
give  the  man's  own  version  of  the  scenes  in  which  he  has 
been  actor  or  witness — and  that  is  what  History  will  go  back 
to  when  she  at  last  takes  up  her  impartial  pen  to  tell  this 
story." 

Such,  in  the  main,  is  this  book.  It  is  simply  an  account  of 
the  struggle  as  witnessed  by  one  of  the  actors.  It  was  intended 
to  give  details  at  length  and  the  part  taken  by  individuals  in 
different  movements,  but  it  was  found  that  to  do  so  would 


PREFACE.  vii 

extend  the  work  beyond  desirable  limits,  and  much  matter 
of  this  nature  has  been  stricken  out.  There  are  many  of  the 
actors  whose  names  deserve  high  honor,  and  whose  deeds 
would  fill  a  volume,  who  have  been  passed  by  with  but  a 
word,  or  perhaps  not  even  mentioned.  To  have  done  com- 
plete justice  to  individuals  would  have  obscured  or  abbre- 
viated the  outlines  of  the  general  conflict  which  I  aimed  to 
give. 

While  the  contest  between  the  Free-State  and  Slave-State 
men  was  most  earnest,  and  casual  observers  would  be  induced 
to  believe  most  bitter,  the  writer  of  this  book  can  truthfully 
say  that  he  never  permitted  his  personal  feelings  to  become 
enlisted  from  first  to  last.  No  uncivil  word  or  act  was  heard 
or  witnessed  between  myself  and  the  most  violent  of  the 
opposite  party.  Our  personal  intercourse  was  at  all  times 
most  courteous.  The  same  is  true  of  factional  differences 
among  Free-State  men.  Not  an  uncivil  word  ever  passed 
between  myself  and  Lane,  Brown,  or  any  other  partisan. 
The  work  in  which  all  were  engaged  was  too  important  for 
the  workers  who  were  actuated  by  principle  to  engage  in 
personalities. 

The  conduct  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  is  perhaps  treated 
with  too  little  respect  for  great  names,  but  there  is  not  the 
least  bitterness  of  feeling.  Believing  that  there  was  the  most 
inexcusable,  unnecessary,  and  wanton  destruction  of  life  and 
property,  I  have  characterized  conduct  as  I  think  it  merits, 
without  other  feeling  than  that  of  regret  and  a  just  indigna- 
tion that  such  outrages  should  be  permitted  by  those  who 
had  the  power  to  prevent  them. 

It  is  very  likely  that  the  reader  will  find  many  shortcom- 
ings, many  important  matters  omitted  and  some  things  said 
that  might  have  been  said  better  or,  perhaps,  should  not  have 
been  said  at  all ;  but  if  anything  has  been  written  that  shall 
aid  the  disinterested  historian  in  getting  at  the  truth  of  the 
most  important  conflict  of  this  age  and  country,  I  shall  feel 
abundantly  rewarded  for  my  labor. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

That  some  readers  will  be  disturbed  and  displeased  is  also 
very  likely.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  says : 

"  You  never  need  think  you  can  turn  over  any  old  false- 
hood, without  a  terrible  squirming  and  scattering  of  the 
horrid  little  population  that  dwells  under  it.  Every  real 
thought  on  every  real  subject  knocks  the  wind  out  of  some- 
body or  other." 

C.  ROBINSON. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE v 

INTRODUCTION xiii 

CHAPTER    I. 

Slavery  and  Anti-Slavery. — Colonization  Society. — American  Anti- 
Slavery  Society. — Liberty  and  Free-Soil  Parties I 

CHAPTER  II. 

Weapons  and  Machinery  Needed. — Settlers  Required. — How  Se- 
cured  : 16 

CHAPTER  III. 

Characteristics  of  Contestants. — Eastern  and  Western  Settlers. — 
The  Overland  Route  to  California  in  1849. — The  Sacramento 
Riot '..... 26 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Situation  in  the  East. — Eli  Thayer  and  his  Associates. — Settlement 
of  Lawrence. — Claim  Controversies 66 

CHAPTER  V. 
Settlements. — Elections'. — Public  Sentiments 91 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Repudiation. — Means  of  Defense. — The  Country  Agitated. — The 
First  Kansas  Celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July 121 


x  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PACK 

The  Territorial  Legislature. — The  Topeka  Constitution 153 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

The   Murder  of   Dow. — The  Wakarusa  War. — Murder  and   Burial 

<>t'   Barber 1 S i 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Results  of  the  Wakarusa  War. — A  Congressional  Investigation. . .  .212 

CHATTER  X. 

The  Marshal's  Invasion  of  Lawrence,  May  21,  1856. — Shooting  of 
Jones. — An  Official  Riot. — Arrest  of  Robinson. — Protest  to 
President. — Reeder's  Escape 231 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Potawatomie  Massacre  and  its  Effects. — A  Guerrilla  War. 
— Dispersion  of  the  State  Legislature. — Arrival  of  Lane  and 
Brown 265 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Free-State  and  Pro-Slavery  Force*. — Arrival  <>t  Governor  Geary. — 

End  of  the  War. — The  Parts  pjayefl  by  Brown  and  Lane 302 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Conduct  of  the  Army  in  Kansas. — Agitation  in  the  East. — The 
Presidential  Election. — Governor  Geary's  Failure 332 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

State  and  Territorial  Elections  in  1857 ' 344 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Lecompton  Constitution. — Leavenworth  Constitution. — Ultra  Radi- 
cals   369 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

I'AGE 

Difficulties  in  Southern  Kansas. — Montgomery  and  Brown. — Marais 
des  Cygnes  Massacre. — Brown's  Parallels. — Arts  of  Peace. . .  .391 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Killing  of  Jenkins. — The  Services  of  Lane  and  Brown. — Ad- 
mission of  Kansas  to  the  Union. — Secession. — The  Governor's 
First  Message 42 1 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Troops  Called. — Lane's  Brigade  and  Jay- Hawking. — Lane's  In- 
fluence at  Washington 434 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Growth  of  Kansas. — Her  Institutions. — Temperance. — Prohi- 
bition.— Importance  of  the  Kansas  Conflict 464 

APPENDIX .  .482 


INTRODUCTION. 

FOR  years  myself  and  others  within  and  without  the  State 
have  been  urging  Governor  Robinson  to  write  what  he 
knows  about  the  early  history  of  Kansas.  "  Perseverance 
conquers  all  things,"  and  at  last  the  history  is  written.  And, 
to  my  great  surprise,  I  am  complimented  and  honored  with 
an  invitation  to  write  the  introduction. 

Any  history  of  Kansas  without  Governor  Robinson  as  the 
prominent  figure  would  be  like  the  "  play  of  Hamlet  with 
Hamlet  left  out."  He  has  an  array  of  facts  and  information 
that  no  other  man  has,  without  which  any  history  of  Kansas 
would  be  incomplete.  I  first  met  Governor  Robinson  (then 
Dr.  Robinson)  in  Boston,  March  5,  1855,  on  the  eve  of  leav- 
ing for  Kansas  with  the  Manhattan  Colony,  and  was  espe- 
cially indebted  to  him  for  valuable  suggestions.  I  was  pe- 
culiarly impressed  with  his  qualifications  for  a  great  leader. 
He  was  tall,  well-proportioned,  commanding  in  appearance, 
yet  winning  in  manner ;  with  a  clear,  keen,  blue  eye ;  a 
countenance  that  denoted  culture  and  intellect,  and  a  will 
that  few  would  care  to  run  against.  He  would  pass  any- 
where as  a  good-looking  man,  and  in  any  crowd  would  com- 
mand attention.  With  perfect  control  of  himself,  he  could 
rule  in  the  midst  of  a  storm.  His  magnetism  would  inspire 
men  to  do  and  to  dare  in  the  cause  of  human  Liberty,  and 
the  establishment  of  the  great  principles  of  Republican  gov- 
ernment. 

In  the  history  of  the  world,  Providence  has  raised  up  men 
qualified  for  particular  work.  Where  would  British  India 
have  been  to-day  without  Lord  Clive,  though  at  the  com- 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

mencement  of  the  great  struggle  he  was  a  merchant's  clerk  ? 
What  would  the  Pilgrims  on  Plymouth  Rock  have  done 
without  the  cool  and  brave  Miles  Standish  ?  And  in  our 
Revolution  who  could  have  led  us  to  the  victory  except 
George  Washington  ?  And  still  later  on,  who  could  have 
conquered  the  Rebellion  but  the  indomitable  Grant  ?  While 
Kli  Thayer,  providentially  the  founder  of  the  New  England 
Emigrant  Aid  Company,  was  flying  over  the  North  like  a 
flaming  meteor,  stirring  up  the  people  for  money  and  recruits 
in  his  grand  crusade  for  the  freedom  of  Kansas,  Charles 
Robinson,  his  trusty  lieutenant,  wonderfully  prepared  for  it 
by  a  like  Providence  by  his  California  experience,  was  sternly 
holding  the  helm  amid  the  storms  and  breakers  in  Kansas. 
Without  Eli  Thayer  the  emigrants  would  not  have  come,  and 
without  Charles  Robinson  it  would  have  been  in  vain  that 
they  did  come  !  Cool,  clear-headed,  and  brave,  he  could  see 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  the  sure  way  to  reach  it. 
\Yhile  others  were  all  excitement,  he  was  perfectly  self-pos- 
sessed, and  knew  the  right  thing  to  do,  and  did  it.  To  his 
mind  two  things  were  perfectly  clear :  First,  there  was  to  be 
no  resistance  of  the  United  States  Government.  Secondly, 
the  territorial  laws  made  by  a  bogus  Legislature  were  to  be 
ignored.  To  carry  out  these  principles  required  clear  heads 
•and  many  times  a  passive  resistance  worthy  of  the  early 
martyrs.  His  great  idea  was  in  every  case  so  to  manage 
that  the  Pro-Slavery  men  should  be  in  the  wrong  and  the 
Free-State  men  in  the  right.  The  first  must  be  the  aggressor, 
and  the  second  the  passive  sufferer,  or  act  only  in  self-de- 
fense. In  this  way  alone  he  could  secure  the  united  sympa- 
thy and  support  of  the  North. 

The  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  without  which 
Kansas  could  not  have  been  saved,  was  composed  of  a 
remarkable  body  of  men.  Eli  Thayer  says :  "  No  other  cor- 
poration ever  formed  in  this  country  can  compare  at  all  in 
ability,  character,  influence,  and  wealth  with  the  Directors  of 
the  Emigrant  Aid  Company."  And  through  his  genius,  skill, 


INTRODUCTION.  *v 

and  forethought  it  was  created  and  made  effectual  in  its  great 
and  glorious  work.  In  his  valuable  book,  "The  Kansas 
Crusade,"  published  in  1889,  he  has  written  a  wonderful 
history  of  his  grand  and  noble  work  which  made  it  possible 
to  save  Kansas  from  slavery  by  outside  work.  And  now  we 
have  Governor  Robinson's  history,  which  tells  how  Kansas 
was  saved  to  freedom  by  inside  work.  They  constitute  two 
of  the  most  important  histories  yet  written,  which  tell  how 
Kansas  was  made  a  free  State.  Let  every  Kansan  read 
them. 

Governor  Robinson  has  brought  to  the  work  honesty, 
conscientiousness,  ability,  and  independence.  Never  did  Dr. 
Robinson  appear  to  greater  advantage  than  in  the  Waka- 
rusa  war  of  December,  1855.  Governor  Shannon,  inspired 
by  Sheriff  Jones  and  other  pro-slavery  leaders,  issued  a  proc- 
lamation for  volunteers  to  enforce  the  bogus  laws,  and  in 
response  some  1900  Missourians  assembled  at  Franklin  to 
wipe  out  Lawrence,  the  hotbed  of  rebellion  against  the 
supremacy  of  slavery.  Dr.  Robinson  was  the  diplomatist 
who  devised  the  policy  adopted  to  thwart  the  enemy.  Shan- 
non's good  sense  and  legal  mind  enabled  him,  on  arriving 
at  Lawrence,  at  once  to  grasp  the  situation.  A  treaty  was 
made  and  the  tables  were  turned.  The  army  of  Sheriff  Jones 
was  ordered  to  disperse,  and  a  legal  force  found  itself  at 
once  a  mob,  while  Robinson  and  his  force  became  law-abid- 
ing citizens,  and  were  recognized  by  Governor  Shannon  to 
be  so.  By  request  of  the  Governor,  who  seemed  to  distrust 
his  own  power  of  persuasion,  Dr.  Robinson  and  General 
Lane  accompanied  him  to  Franklin  to  explain  to  the  Mis- 
sourians the  true  condition  of  affairs.  Lane  first  spoke,  but 
unfortunately  provoked  instead  of  conciliated,  and  the  meet- 
ing was  on  the  point  of  breaking  up  in  confusion  when  Dr. 
Robinson  was  called  out,  and  by  an  appeal  to  facts  and  their 
common  sense,  he  conquered  their  prejudices  and  the  victory 
was  won.  During  this  negotiation,  as  on  other  important 
occasions,  came  in  the  disturbing  element  of  John  Brown 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

and  a  few  followers  who  were  as  ready  to  fight  the  United 
States  Government  as  they  were  the  border  ruffians.  Brown 
himself  wished  to  go  out  and  open  the  fight  with  the  enemy, 
and  was  only  kept  quiet  by  a  threat  from  Robinson  that  he 
would  place  him  under  arrest. 

It  was  while  Dr.  Robinson  was  a  prisoner  under  a  guard 
of  United  States  soldiers  at  Lecompton,  that  General  Lane 
proposed  to  release  him  and  the  other  Free-State  prisoners 
by  force,  when  the  General  was  very  decidedly  requested  to 
keep  quiet.  Their  liberation  without  force  soon  followed. 
It  was  while  he  was  a  prisoner  that  John  Brown,  with  some 
half  dozen  men,  in  the  night,  on  Pottawatomie  Creek,  called 
out  and  assassinated  three  men  and  two  boys  in  a  shocking 
manner.  At  a  mass  meeting  called  soon  after  by  both  par- 
ties, the  act  was  denounced  and  disowned.  Brown  was 
condemned  even  by  his  own  son  Jason,  with  whom  I  rode  a 
long  distance  on  his  way  to  California,  in  1884.  Neverthe- 
less, that  massacre  was  the  commencement  of  those  terrible 
atrocities  that  followed  in  south-eastern  Kansas,  and  beyond 
the  control  of  Dr.  Robinson.  Had  his  statesmanship  pre- 
vailed everywhere,  very  little  bloodshed  would  have  attended 
the  making  of  Kansas  a  free  State.  For  Dr.  Robinson  the 
border  ruffians  had  great  respect,  and  when  at  Lawrence 
they  had  seized  the  polls  and  driven  all  other  Free-State  men 
away,  on  his  approach  they  cried  out,  "  Here  comes  the 
Doctor;  let  him  vote,"  and  the  way  was  cleared.  Even  in 
that  terrible  massacre  during  the  Lawrence  raid,  and  when 
the  Doctor  slowly  retired  from  his  barn  to  the  brow  of  Mt. 
Oread,  near  where  several  of  Quantrell's  men  were  on  guard, 
they  did  not  molest  him.  There  was  a  certain  something,  a 
strange,  commanding  influence,  a  presence  that  neutralized 
for  the  time  being  any  power  to  do  him  harm.  In  all  of  his 
Kansas  experience,  both  when  free  and  when  for  four  months 
a  prisoner,  I  never  heard  of  his  receiving  a  personal  insult. 
The  same  was  true  of  his  California  experience.  He  would 
meet  hundreds  of  men  single-handed  and  prevent  the  de- 


INTRODUCTION.  xvn 

struction  of  the  squatters'  property  without  a  blow  being 
struck. 

While  I  have  always  looked  upon  Governor  Robinson  as 
raised  up  and  specially  qualified  as  the  man,  and  the  only 
man,  within  the  territory  to  lead  on  to  certain  victory,  I  have 
never  thought  him  a  good  politician.  He  is  too  honest  and 
outspoken  ;  his  sentiments,  whether  popular  or  unpopular, 
are  never  concealed.  With  the  highest  appreciation  of  his 
services  in  saving  Kansas,  and  with  a  personal  regard  that 
has  few  equals,  it  has  so  happened,  fortunately  or  unfortu- 
nately, that  ever  since  the  war  we  have  in  most  cases  voted  on 
opposite  sides,  yet  without  disturbing  our  personal  relations. 
The  world  will  never  be  quite  right  till  we  allow  other  people 
the  same  freedom  of  thought  and  action  that  we  claim  for 
ourselves. 

Before  closing  I  wish  to  quote  from  several  contempo- 
raries. G.  Douglas  Brewerton,  correspondent  JV.  Y.  Herald, 
who  was  in  Kansas  in  December,  1855,  and  January,  1856, 
thus  speaks  of  Charles  Robinson  :  "  In  Kansas  politics  Gen- 
eral Robinson  was  a  member  of  the  State  constitutional 
convention,  is  chairman  of  the  Free-State  executive  commit- 
tee, and  in  addition  to  this  holds  the  military  rank  of  Major- 
General  and  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Kansas  Volunteers, 
as  the  Free-State  army  of  Kansas  style  themselves.  He 
may  be  regarded  as  the  real  head — the  thinking  one,  we 
mean — and  mainspring  of  the  Free-State  party,  or,  to  speak 
more  correctly,  of  all  that  party  who  are  worth  anything. 
We  believe  him  to  be  a  keen,  shrewd,  far-seeing  man,  who 
would  permit  nothing  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  end  which 
he  desired  to  gain.  He  is,  moreover,  cool  and  determined, 
and  appears  to  be  endowed  with  immense  firmness ;  we 
should  call  him  a  conservative  man  now,  but  conservative 
rather  from  policy  than  from  principle.  He  seems  to  have 
strong  common  sense,  and  a  good  ordinary  brain,  but  no 
brilliancy  of  talent.  In  fact,  to  sum  Governor  Robinson  up 
in  a  single  sentence,  we  consider  him  the  most  dangerous 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 

enemy  which  the  pro-slavery  party  have  to  encounter  in 
Kansas.  In  person  he  is  tall  and  well-made,  and  more  than 
ordinarily  handsome,  gentlemanly,  but  by  no  means  winning 
in  his  manners,  with  one  of  those  cold,  keen  blue  eyes  that 
seem  to  look  you  through." 

S.  S.  Prouty  sums  up  the  character  of  Governor  Robinson 
in  an  address  January  27,  1881,  before  the  Kansas  State 
Historical  Society,  as  follows : 

"  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  and  influential  leaders  of 
the  Free-State  party  was  Charles  Robinson,  the  first  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Kansas.  He  was  noted  for  his  sterling 
common  sense,  firmness,  coolness,  and  courage.  Though  an 
uncompromising  anti-slavery  man,  there  was  no  sentiment 
or  gush  in  his  composition.  He  was  regarded  as  a  conserv- 
ative man  and  too  business-like  and  practical  by  the  ideal- 
ists. He  fancied  fighting  as  well  as  any  other  man  when  it 
was  absolutely  necessary,  or  when  it  would  benefit  the  Free- 
State  cause.  But  he  did  not  believe  in  sanguinary  strife 
simply  for  the  love  of  it,  or  for  ends  but  remotely  associated 
with  the  Kansas  contest.  Such  men  as  Governor  Robinson 
were  needed  to  hold  in  check  the  reckless  and  imprudent, 
to  bring  order  out  of  chaos,  and  secure  the  fruits  of  victory." 

October  30,  1851,  he  married  Miss  Sara  T.  1).  Lawrence, 
daughter  of  Hon.  Myron  Lawrence,  an  eminent  lawyer  and 
statesman  of  Massachusetts.  Ller  mother  was  C'larissa 
(I)wight)  Lawrence.  She  was  of  the  New  England  family 
of  Dwights,  of  western  Massachusetts,  of  which  President 
Dwight,  of  Yale  College,  is  a  worthy  scion.  She  is  the 
author  of  "  Kansas;  its  Interior  and  Exterior  Life,"  a  book 
which  in  its  time  was  a  not  unworthy  rival  of  "  Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin,"  and  did  scarcely  less  in  its  sphere,  to  rouse  tin- 
Northern  heart,  in  the  early  years  of  the  Kansas  struggle. 
They  have  no  children. 

Eli  Thayer,  in  his  "  Kansas  Crusade,"*  speaks  of  his  first 
meeting  with  Charles  Robinson  as  follows: 

*  "Kansas  Crusade, "^page  33. 


INTRODUCTION.  xix 

"  It  was  at  one  of  the  Chapman  Hall  meetings  (in  Boston) 
that  I  first  saw  Charles  Robinson  (afterwards  Governor  of 
Kansas),  and  engaged  him  to  act  as  agent  of  the  Emigrant 
Aid  Company.  A  wiser  and  more  sagacious  man  for  this 
work  could  not  have  been  found  within  the  borders  of  the 
nation.  By  nature  and  by  training  he  was  perfectly  well 
equipped  for  the  arduous  work  before  him.  A  true  Demo- 
crat and  a  lover  of  the  rights  of  man,  he  had  risked  his  life 
in  California  while  defending  the  poor  and  weak  against  the 
cruel  oppression  of  the  rich  and  powerful.  He  was  willing 
at  any  time,  if  there  were  need,  to  die  for  his  principles.  In 
addition  to  such  brave  devotion  to  his  duty,  he  had  the 
clearest  foresight  and  the  coolest,  calmest  judgment  in  deter- 
mining the  course  of  action  best  adapted  to  secure  the  rights 
of  the  Free-State  settlers.  No  one  in  Kansas  was  so  much 
as  he  the  man  for  the  place  and  time.  He  was  a  deeper 
thinker  than  Atchison,  and  triumphed  over  the  border  ruffians 
and  the  more  annoying  and  more  dangerous  self-seekers  of 
his  own  party.  The  man  who  '  paints  the  lily  and  gilds 
refined  gold  '  is  just  the  one  to  tell  us  how  Charles  Robinson 
might  have  been  better  qualified  for  his  Kansas  work.  But 
his  character,  so  clearly  defined  in  freedom's  greatest  struggle, 
superior  to  the  help  or  harm  of  criticism,  reveals  these  salient 
points  of  excellence — majesty  of  mind  and  humility  of  heart, 
stern  justice  and  tender  sympathy,  heroic  will  and  sensitive 
conscience,  masculine  strength  and  maidenly  modesty,  leonine 
courage  and  womanly  gentleness,  with  power  to  govern 
based  on  self-restraint,  and  love  of  freedom  deeper  than  love 
of  life.  With  such  a  man  at  the  head  of  the  Free-State 
cause  it  is  not  strange  that  I  felt  no  uneasiness  about  its 
management.  I  never  troubled  him  with  letters  of  advice 
about  Kansas  matters,  which  he  was  in  a  position  to  under- 
stand so  well.  In  the  three  years'  conflict  very  few  letters 
passed  between  us.  He  never  knew  where  or  when  a  letter 
would  reach  me,  as  I  was  speaking  all  the  way  from  the 
Penobscot  to  the  Schuylkill,  and  from  the  seaboard  to  the 


xx  INTRODUCTION. 

lakes.  It  was  my  mission  to  raise  men  and  money  for  the 
security  of  freedom  in  the  Territory,  and  to  combine  the 
Northern  States  in  this  work.  1  did  not  doubt  Robinson's 
ability  or  fidelity  in  the  use  of  means." 

Colonel  S.  F.  Tappan,  a  member  of  the  pioneer  party 
from  Massachusetts,  in  1854;  a  Branson  rescuer;  newspaper 
correspondent ;  Clerk  of  the  State  Legislature  who  was  calling 
the  roll  of  the  House  when  that  body  was  dispersed  by  Col- 
onel Sumner;  descendant  of  the  famous  Tappan  families  of 
New  England  and  New  York  ;  Colonel  of  the  First  Colorado 
Regiment  during  the  war,  and  member  of  the  Indian  Peace 
Commission  afterwards,  wrote  to  the  Denver  Tribune  of 
September  9,  1883,  a  communication  in  which  he  said: 

"  Having  referred  to  the  early  history  of  Kansas,  the  long- 
protracted  struggle  of  its  people  to  consecrate  its  soil  to 
freedom,  efforts  at  last  rewarded  by  the  admission  of  Kansas 
into  the  Federal  Union  as  a  free  State,  it  seems  appropriate 
to  make  a  brief  reference  to  the  man  who  more  than  any 
other — in  fact,  more  than  all  others — by  being  patient  as 
well  as  herioc — patient  under  the  most  adverse  and  trying 
circumstances,  patient  when  persecuted,  patient  when  victo- 
rious, patient  in  council,  patient  in  battle,  and  more  than  all, 
patient  in  prison — so  shaped  and  directed  the  policy  of  the 
Free-State  men  as  to  bring  about  the  most  desired  object, 
the  freedom  of  Kansas.  When  the  first  party  of  emigrants 
to  Kansas  from  New  England — as  early  as  July.  1^54 — 
reached  the  city  of  St.  Louis  en  route,  they  there  met  <»ne 
who  had  preceded  them  to  Kansas  and  made  a  selection  of  a 
location — now  Lawrence— on  the  Kansas  River,  just  west 
of  the  limits  of  the  Shawnee  reservation,  about  forty-five 
miles  west  of  Kansas  City,  as  a  place  for  this  party  to  mak.' 
a  settlement.  He  then  returned  and  met  them  at  St.  l.ouis, 
further  to  aid  them  in  their  purchases  for  their  new  h< 
This  man  had  been  a  pioneer  in  a  new  country,  one  of  ihc 
earliest  of  those  who  went  to  California,  and  while  there  was 
shot  through  the  body  while  endeavoring  to  vindicate  the 


INTRODUCTION.  xxl 

rights  of  the  settlers  to  the  land,  commanding  and  leading 
them  against  a  monster  monopoly  which  was  seeking  to 
obtain  and  control  all  of  the  public  domain.  After  being 
shot,  he  was  placed  on  board  a  prison-ship  and  there  retained 
until  the  people  had  elected  and  called  upon  him  to  represent 
them  in  the  Legislature.  Upon  the  passage  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill,  he  emigrated  to  Kansas,  and  ever  since  has 
been  closely  and  prominently  connected  with  its  interests. 
Upon  the  commencement  of  hostilities  between  the  Free- 
State  men  and  the  invaders,  he  was  called  upon  to  take 
command  of  the  former.  Had  it  simply  been  a  question 
between  the  Free-State  men  and  the  Missourians,  it  would 
have  soon  been  settled  by  a  decisive  action.  But  the  ques- 
tion at  issue  was  more  than  this ;  it  was  not  local,  but 
national.  The  Missourians  were  encouraged  and  sustained 
at  the  outset  by  the  entire  force  of  the  Federal  Government, 
by  the  slave  power  of  the  South,  and  their  allies  at  the  North. 
The  Federal  judiciary  and  the  Federal  army  were  also  ar- 
rayed on  their  side  and  against  the  Free-State  men.  These 
were  potent,  because  on  the  ground  and  ready  to  be  applied 
in  behalf  of  the  invader.  Under  these  adverse  circumstances 
the  cause  of  free  Kansas  seemed  at  first  sight  lost  forever. 
To  fully  comprehend  the  situation  and  the  best  means  of 
averting  the  storm  required  a  man  of  the  greatest  patience, 
judgment,  coolness,  and  courage ;  one  able  to  consolidate 
and  control  the  Free-State  element  in  such  a  way  as  to  pre- 
vent a  direct  conflict  with  the  Federal  authority,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  maintain  a  determined  position  of  resistance  to 
the  invader  of  the  Territory  and  oppressor  of  the  settlers ; 
one  able  to  shape  the  policy  of  the  people  and  direct  it  to- 
ward a  final  victory  upon  the  appearance  of  every  new  move- 
ment of  the  enemy.  Kansas  had  such  a  man,  who  proved 
himself  equal  to  every  emergency.  When  the  invader  had, 
by  violence,  obtained  absolute  control  of  the  first  Legislative 
Assembly,  and  had  enacted  an  infamous  slave  code  for  the 
government  of  Kansas,  this  man  then  advised  an  open  repu- 


*xn  INTRODUCTION. 

diation  of  the  concern  and  the  immediate  formation  of  a 
constitution  and  the  organization  of  a  government  under  it 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  which  was 
done.  This  movement  proved  a  check  upon  the  pro-slavery 
party.  Then  the  Administration  determined  to  destroy  this 
new  government,  using  the  Federal  judges  and  the  Federal 
army  for  the  purpose.  This  man  was  indicted,  arrested,  and 
imprisoned  upon  the  charge  of  treason,  held  for  months  as 
a  prisoner,  restrained  of  his  liberty  by  a  company  of  United 
States  troops.  Colonel  Sumner,  with  his  regiment,  dispersed 
the  Legislature  at  the  point  of  his  sword.  Free-State  men 
were  arrested,  manacled,  and  in  some  instances  driven  for 
miles  across  the  prairie  by  detachments  of  Federal  troops. 
The  army  had  become  fully  identified  with  the  invaders  and 
determined  upon  the  enslavement  of  Kansas.  It  was  a  crisis 
in  affairs.  One  false  movement  on  the  part  of  the  people 
would  jeopardize  everything.  But  their  leader,  although  a 
prisoner  in  a  Federal  camp,  still  directed  affairs  and  con- 
trolled events.  When  the  young  men,  smarting  under  the 
indignities  heaped  upon  them — when  they  saw  the  army  and 
flag  of  their  country  prostituted  to  the  service  of  the  slave 
party,  imperilling  the  freedom  of  Kansas,  felt  impelled  to  rise 
up  in  armed  resistance,  attack  the  prison  camp,  and  release 
their  General,  he  said,  '  No  ;  under  no  circumstances  do  you 
permit  yourselves  to  fire  upon  the  army  or  the  flag  of  our 
common  country.'  Like  the  great  discoverer  Columbus, 
who  had  been  arrested  and  put  in  irons  by  order  of  the 
tyrannic  Governor  of  Hispaniola,  Bobadilla,  and  sent  to 
Spain,  when  importuned  by  the  captain  of  his  guard  and  the 
master  of  the  ship  to  permit  them  to  remove  the  manacles 
from  his  limbs,  said,  '  No ;  they  were  placed  upon  me  by 
order  of  my  sovereigns,  and  there  they  must  remain  until 
removed  by  their  command.'  Our  Kansas  Columbus,  in 
the  same  spirit,  replied,  '  These  bonds  were  placed  upon  me 
by  authority  of  the  Government,  and  must  remain  until  re- 
moved by  the  same  power,'  which  was  done,  and  this  man 


INTRODUCTION.  xxiii 

became  the  first  executive  of  free  Kansas ;  its  war  Governor, 
the  organizer  of  its  heroic  army  that  went  forth  to  maintain 
the  Federal  Union  and  uphold  its  flag  and  authority  against 
a  colossal  armed  rebellion,  in  which  3420  Kansas  men  laid 
down  their  lives,  that  our  Government  might  live." 

The  early  settlers  well  understood  Dr.  Robinson  and 
rallied  to  his  support. 

That  he  was  appreciated  is  fully  shown  by  his  almost 
unanimous  election  to  the  highest  office  within  the  gift  of  the 
people,  that  of  the  first  Governor  of  the  State.  And  well 
did  he  earn  his  title  of  "  the  War  Governor  of  Kansas." 

ISAAC  T.  GOODNOW. 

MANHATTAN,  KANSAS,  June  i,  1891. 


CHAPTER    I. 

SLAVERY     AND     ANTI-SLAVKRV. COLONIZATION     SOCIETY. 

AMERICAN    ANTI-SLAYERY    SOCIETY. LIBERTY    AND    FREE- 
SOIL    PARTIES. 

ON  Kansas  soil  was  gained  the  first  decisive  victory'  against 
the  slave  power  of  this  nation.  Had  her  pioneers  failed  to 
make  Kansas  a  free  State,  slavery  to-day  would  have  been 
national  and  freedom  sectional.  From  the  year  1820  to 
1854  the  triumphal  march  of  the  slave  power  had  been  unin- 
terrupted, and  the  time  seemed  at  hand  when  the  defiant 
threat  of  a  Southern  planter,  that  he  would  call  the  roll  of 
his  slaves  under  the  shadow  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument, 
would  be  fulfilled.  This  may  seem  an  extravagant  claim, 
but  it  is  susceptible  of  proof.  Before  this  nation  was  born, 
while  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  were  fleeing  from  the  oppression 
of  the  Old  World,  and  seeking  liberty  on  the  rock-bound 
coast  of  New  England,  a  cargo  of  twenty  African  slaves  was 
landed  in  Virginia,  in  the  month  of  August,  1619.  From 
this  seed  thus  planted  sprung  the  upas  tree  that  overshad- 
owed the  land.  At  first  no  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  divided 
the  country,  but  nearly  all  the  Colonies  had  more  or  less 
slaves,  not  excepting  New  York  and  Massachusetts.  The 
slave  trade,  carried  on  in  Spanish,  English,  and  Dutch  ships, 
was  very  lucrative,  and  plied  with  energy  till  the  question  of 
holding  slaves  became  one  of  public  consideration.  Good 
men  from  the  first  deplored  the  existence  of  slavery,  and 
hoped  for  its  early  disappearance.  Among  them  were  Wash- 
ington, Jefferson,  Rush.  Franklin,  Jay.  Hamilton,  Hopkins, 
Wesley,  Whitefield,  Edwards,  and  others.  As  early  as  1688 
1 


2  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  Quakers  of  Pennsylvania  protested  against  the  ''  buying, 
selling,  and  holding  men  in  slavery."  In  1696  the  yearly 
meeting  advised  that  "  the  members  should  discourage  the 
introduction  of  slavery,  and  be  careful  of  the  moral  and 
intellectual  training  of  such  as  they  held  in  servitude."  In 
1780  they  induced  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  to  begin  the 
work  of  emancipation.  Various  anti-slavery  societies  were 
organized  and  conventions  held  against  slavery  during  the 
Colonial  period  of  the  country.  John  Quincy  Adams  said, 
"  The  Fathers  believed  and  meant  slavery  to  be  temporary  ; 
emancipation  was  the  end  in  view,  only  the  time  and  mode 
were  uncertain."  In  1 784  Mr.  Jefferson  presented  to  the 
Continental  Congress  a  deed  of  cession  of -all  the  lands 
claimed  by  Virginia  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River.  A  com- 
mittee, with  Jefferson  as  chairman,  was  appointed,  which 
reported  a  plan  for  the  government  of  the  land  ceded  or  to 
be  ceded.  This  plan  contemplated  its  ultimate  division  into 
seventeen  States.  It  was  therein  provided  that,  "  after  the 
year  of  the  Christian  era  1800,  there  shall  be  neither  slavery 
nor  involuntary  servitude  in  any  of  these  States,  otherwise 
than  in  the  punishment  of  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall 
have  been  duly  convicted."  This  report  covered  not  only 
the  Northwest  Territory,  but  also  Kentucky,  Tennessee.  Ala- 
bama, and  Mississippi.  It  was  rejected  for  a  report  in  July, 
1787,  by  Nathan  Dane,  chairman,  reporting  an  ordinance 
for  the  territory  of  the  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  in  which  there 
should  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude.  This 
ordinance  was  passed  by  the  Continental  Congress  on  the 
1 3th  of  July,  1787.  The  provision  excluding  slavery  was 
affirmed  by  Congress  under  the  Constitution  in  1789.  Kf- 
forts  were  made  by  the  Territory  of  Indiana  to  suspend  this 
ordinance,  but  without  avail. 

Mr.  Wilson  in  "  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power,"  on 
page  38,  ist  vol.,  says: 

"  By  this  legislation  the  character  of  all  the  territory  of  the  United 
States  was   then  fixed.     Mr.    Jefferson's   proposition,    made   in    1784, 


ORDINANCE    OF    1787. SLAVERY    COMPROMISES.  3 

would  have  prohibited  slavery  after  1800  in  all  that  territory.  It  has 
ever  been  a  source  of  profound  regret  to  the  friends  of  freedom  that 
this  prohibition  failed.  In  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  however,  it 
is  not  at  all  clear  that  more  would  have  been  gained  to  freedom  by  its 
adoption  than  was  secured  by  Mr.  Dane's  ordinance,  which  only  applied 
to  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River.  While  Mr. 

Jefferson's  proviso  might  and  probably  would  have  failed  to  secure  to 
freedom  the  territory  south  of  the  Ohio,  it  might  have  imperilled  it  in 
the  territory  northwest  of  that  river.  Mr.  Dane's  ordinance  of  1787 
probably  won  for  freedom  all  that  could  have  been  securely  held." 

This  was  the  first  and  last  substantial  concession  to  free- 
dom by  Congress. 

In  March,  1820,  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  adopted 
admitting  Missouri  as  a  slave  State  and  prohibiting  slavery 
from  all  territory  north  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  min- 
utes. This  Compromise  was  a  victory  for  slavery,  and 
caused  great  excitement  in  New  England  and  the  entire 
North.  The  Legislatures  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware,  Ohio,  and  Indiana  passed  resolutions 
affirming  the  power  and  duty  of  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery 
in  the  States  to  be  carved  out  of  Western  territory.  The 
Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  denounced  the  measure  of  admit- 
ting Missouri  as  a  slave-holding  State  as  one  "  to  spread  the 
crimes  and  cruelties  of  slavery  from  the  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific." 

Next  came  the  admission  of  Texas  as  a  slave  State,  Decem- 
ber 27,  1845.  This  was  followed  by  the  war  with  Mexico,  re- 
sulting in  the  acquisition  of  California,  New  Mexico,  and  Utah. 
This  triumph  of  the  slave  power  served  to  keep  alive  the  agi- 
tation throughout  the  North  and  embitter  the  two  sections. 

In  1850  came  another  compromise.  California  had 
adopted  a  Free-State  constitution  and  applied  for  admission 
into  the  Union.  As,  according  to  the  rules  of  popular  or 
any  other  sovereignty,  the  State  could  not  well  be  rejected, 
a  compromise  was  effected  by  which  Utah  and  New  Mexico 
were  made  Territories  with  the  right  to  become  slave  States, 
and  the  Northern  States  became  hunting-grounds  for  fugitive 


4  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

slaves  by  the  enactment  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Here 
was  another  triumph  for  slavery  which  again  fired  the  North, 
resulting  in  the  passage  of  personal  liberty  bills  in  several 
States. 

Finally  came  the  passage  of  the  Kansas- Nebraska  bill, 
which  ignored  the  compromise  line  of  thirty-six  degrees  and 
thirty  minutes.  After  giving  the  boundaries,  these  words 
are  used : 

"  The  same  is  hereby  erected  into  a  temporary  government  by  the  name 
of  the  Territory  of  Kansas,  and  when  admitted  as  a  state  or  states,  tin- 
said  territory,  pr  any  portion  of  the  same,  shall  be  received  into  tin- 
Union  with  or  without  slavery,  as  their  constitution  may  prescribe  at 
the  time  of  their  admission.  *  *  *  That  the  constitution,  and  all 
laws  of  the  United  States  which  are  not  locally  inapplicable,  shall  have 
the  same  force  and  effect  within  the  said  Territory  of  Kansas  as  elsewhere 
within  the  United  States,  except  the  eighth  section  of  the  act  prepara- 
tory to  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union,  approved  March  sixth. 
1820,  which,  being  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  non-intervention 
by  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  States  and  Territories,  as  recognized  by 
the  legislation  of  1850,  commonly  called  the  compromise  measure,  is 
hereby  declared  inoperative  and  void  ;  it  being  the  true  intent  and  mean- 
ing of  the  act  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Territory  or  State,  nor  to 
exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to  leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to 
form  and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject 
only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States :  provided  that  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  revive  or  put  in  force  any  law  or 
regulation  which  may  have  existed  prior  to  the  6th  of  March,  1820, 
either  protecting,  establishing,  prohibiting,  or  abolishing  slavery." 

Here  is  the  removal  of  all  Congressional  barriers  to  the 
spread  of  slavery,  not  only  north  of  thirty-six  degrees  and 
thirty  minutes,  but  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River ;  between 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  the  great  lakes  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  "  It  being  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of 
the  act  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Territory  or  State''  etc. 

This  was  the  situation  May  30,  1854.  So  far  as  Con- 
gressional action  could  go,  every  foot  of  land  in  the  United 
States  was  open  to  slavery.  Was  there  any  agency  or  power 
anywhere  that  could  prevent  its  extension  to  Kansas  ?  There 
were  able  champions  of  freedom  in  Congress — Sumner,  Sew- 


SLAVERY    TRIUMPHANT.  5 

ard,  Chase,  Hale,  Wilson,  Giddings,  and  others — but  their 
battle  had  been  fought  and  hopelessly  lost.  They  fought 
nobly  and  well,  but  their  weapons  were  words,  words,  which 
were  impotent  in  a  contest  of  votes.  Henceforth  they  were 
as  powerless  to  resist  the  onward  march  of  slavery  as  if  they 
had  already  been  sleeping  their  last  sleep. 

Senator  W.  H.  Seward,  on  May  25,  1854,  said: 

"  The  sun  has  set  for  the  last  time  upon  the  guaranteed  and  certain 
liberties  of  all  unsettled  and  unorganized  portions  of  the  American  con- 
tinent that  lie  within  the  jurisdiction-of  the  United  States.  To-morrow's 
sun  will  rise  in  dim  eclipse  over  them.  How  long  that  obscuration 
shall  last  is  known  only  to  the  power  that  directs  and  controls  all  human 
events.  For  myself,  I  know  only  this  :  that  no  human  power  can  pre- 
vent its  coming  on,  and  that  its  passing  off  will  be  hastened  and  secured 
by  others  than  those  now  here,  and  perhaps  only  by  those  belonging  to 
future  generations." 

Senator  B.  F.  Wade  said : 

"  The  humiliation  of  the  North  is  complete  and  overwhelming. 
*  *  *  I  know  full  well  that  no  words  of  mine  can  save  -the  country 
from  this  impending  dishonor,  this  meditated  wrong,  which  is  big  with 
danger  to  the  good  neighborhood  of  the  different  sections  of  the  country, 
if  not  to  the  stability  of  the  Union  itself.  *  *  *  An  empire  is  to  be 
transformed  from  freedom  to  slavery,  and  the  people  must  not  be  con- 
sulted on  such  a  question,  so  big  with  weal  or  woe  to  the  millions  who 
are  to  people  these  vast  regions  in  all  time  to  come." 

The  New  York  Tribune  of  May  24,  1854,  said: 

"  The  revolution  is  accomplished,  and  slavery  is  king.  How  long 
shall  this  monarch  reign?  This  is  now  the  question  for  the  Northern 
people  to  answer.  Their  representatives  have  crowned  the  new  poten- 
tate, and  the  people  alone  can  depose  him." 

In  June,  1854,  it  said: 

"  Not  even  by  accident  is  any  advantage  left  for  liberty  in  their  bill. 
It  is  all  blackness  without  a  single  gleam  of  light — a  desert  without  one 
spot  of  verdure — a  crime  that  can  show  no  redeeming  point.  * 
A  Territory  which  one  short  year  ago  was  unanimously  considered  by 
all,  North  and  South,  as  sacredly  secured  by  irrepealable  law  to  FREK- 
DOM  FOREVER,  has  been  foully  betrayed  by  traitor  hearts  and 
traitor  voices,  and  surrendered  to  slavery." 


6  THK    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

The  field  of  battle  was  thus  removed  from  the  halls  of 
Congress  to  the  plains  of  Kansas.  What  other  agency  or 
power  than  Congress  could  be  invoked  .' 

There  had  been  a  Colonization  Society  that  proposed  to 
dispose  of  slavery  by  transporting  the  slaves  to  their  former 
home,  Africa.  Appeals  had  been  made  for  money  to  trans- 
port, and  for  slaves  to  be  transported,  but  in  vain.  With 
all  the  efforts  of  the  philanthropic,  a  few  thousand  colonists 
only  could  be  sent,  and  the  scheme  was  found  to  be  wholly 
impracticable.  It  was  repudiated  in  a  public  protest  as  early 
\33  by  sucn  Englishmen  as  Wilberforce,  Macaulay,  Ste- 
phen, O'Connel,  and  others,  who  declared  the  society  to  be 
"  an  obstacle  to  the  destruction  of  slavery  throughout  the 
world,"  and  pronounced  its  pretexts  to  be  "  delusion  and  its 
real  effects  dangerous."  John  Quincy  Adams  said  of  it : 
"  The  search  of  the  philosopher's  stone  and  the  casting  of 
nativities  by  the  course  of  the  stars  were  rational  and  sensible 
amusements  in  the  comparison."  Poor  reliance  this  to  pre- 
vent the  spread  of  slavery  to  Kansas. 

There  was  another  organization,  called  the  American  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  in  full  vigor,  and  also  The  New  England 
Anti-Slavery  Society.  The  American  Society  was  organized 
in  1833,  with  this  platform  in  part: 

"  We  also  maintain  that  there  are  at  the  present  time,  the 
highest  obligations  resting  upon  the  people  of  the  free  States 
to  remove  slavery  by  moral  and  political  action,  as  prescribed 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States."  The  New  Eng- 
land Society  declared  that  "  we  will  not  operate  on  the 
exisiting  relations  of  society  by  other  than  peaceful  and  law- 
ful means,  and  that  we  will  give  no  countenance  to  violence 
or  insurrection.  That  the  objects  of  the  society  shall  be  to 
endeavor,  by  all  means  sanctioned  by  law,  humanity,  and 
religion,  to  effect  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United 
States." 

These  were  broad  and  practical  platforms,  and  had  they 
been  adhered  to,  much  assistance  might  have  been  rendered 


ANTI-SLAVERY    SOCIETIES.  7 

to  the  cause  of  free  Kansas.  Some  sixteen  hundred  auxil- 
iary societies  were  organized,  with  a  membership  of  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  million,  before  the  year  1840.  But  when,  in 
that  year,  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  original 
platform,  William  Goodell,  Alvan  Stewart,  Myron  Holley, 
James  G.  Birney,  Joshua  Leavitt,  Gerrit  Smith,  and  others 
called  a  convention  at  Albany  to  consider  the  question  of 
nominating  a  candidate  for  President,  to  be  voted  for  by  the 
anti-slavery  men,  the  Massachusetts  Anti-Slavery  Society- 
said  in  an  address  :  "  For  the  honor  and  purity  of  our  enter- 
prise, we  trust  that  the  abolitionists  of  the  several  States  will 
refuse  to  give  any  countenance  to  the  proposed  convention 
at  Albany.  Let  their  verdict  be  recorded  against  it  as  un- 
authorized and  premature.  Let  the  meeting  be  insignificant 
and  local,  and  thus  rendered  harmless." 

In  1843,  tne  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  resolved: 
"  That  the  compact  which  exists  between  the  North  and  the 
South  is  a  covenant  with  death  and  an  agreement  with  hell, 
involving  both  parties  in  atrocious  criminalities,  and  that  it 
should  be  immediately  annulled." 

Also,  in  May,  1844,  the  declaration  was  made  that 
"  henceforth,  until  slavery  be  abolished,  the  watchword,  the 
rallying  cry.  the  motto  on  the  banner  of  the  A.  A.  Society 
shall  be,  '  No  union  with  slave-holders.'  " 

A  resolution  was  adopted  declaring  that  "  secession  from 
the  Government  was  the  duty  of  every  abolitionist,  and  that 
to  take  office  or  tp  vote  for  another  to  hold  office  under  the 
Constitution  violated  anti-slavery  principles,  and  made  such 
voter  an  abettor  of  the  slave-holder  in  his  sin." 

In  the  "  Writings  of  Garrison,"  the  recognized  leader  of 
the  A.  A.  Society,  pages  118  and  119,  are  the  following  ex- 
pressions : 

"  Know  that  its  (the  Union)  subversion  is  essential  to  the  triumph 
of  justice,  the  deliverance  of  the  oppressed,  the  vindication  of  the 
brotherhood  of  the  race.  It  was  conceived  in  sin  and  brought  forth  in 
iniquity.  *  To  say  that  this  covenant  with  death  shall  not  be 


8  'I  HI,     KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

annulled — that  this  agreement  with  hell  shall  continue  to  stand — that 
this  refuge  of  lies  shall  not  be  swept  away — is  to  hurl  defiance  at  the 
eternal  throne,  and  to  give  the  lie  to  Him  who  sits  thereon. 
Accursed  be  the  American  Union,  as  a  stupendous  republican  imposture. 
*  *  *  Accursed  be  it,  for  its  hypocrisy,  its  falsehood,  its  impudence, 
its  lust,  its  cruelty,  its  oppression.  *  *  *  Accursed  be  it  from  the 
foundation  to  the  roof,  and  may  there  soon  not  be  left  one  stone  upon 
another  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down." 

In  Parker  Pillsbury's  book,  "Acts  of  the  Anti-Slavery 
Apostles,"  page  20,  he  quotes  from  Garrison's  writings  as 
follows:  "The  members  of  this  society  (Non-resistance) 
agree  in  the  opinion  that  no  man,  or  body  of  men,  however 
constituted,  or  by  whatever  name  called,  have  a  right  to 
take  the  life  of  man  as  a  penalty  for  transgression,  that  no 
one  who  professes  to  have  the  Spirit  of  Christ  can  consistently 
sue  a  man  at  law  for  redress  of  injuries,  or  thrust  any  evil- 
doer into  prison  ;  or  hold  any  office  in  which  he  would  come 
under  obligation  to  execute  any  penal  enactments,  or  take 
part  in  the  military  service ;  or  acknowledge  allegiance  to 
any  human  government." 

As  slavery  had  to  be  excluded  from  Kansas,  if  at  all.  by 
votes  according  to  law  and  the  Constitution,  no  assistance- 
could  be  looked  for  from  the  ranks  of  men  who  denounced 
the  Constitution  as  a  compact  to  be  annulled,  all  law  as  a 
crime,  and  voting  or  holding  office  as  a  sin.  Had  the  entire 
anti-slavery  society  been  transferred  to  Kansas,  as  the  mem- 
bers would  not  vote  or  hold  office,  one  hundred  pro-slavery 
men  would  have  been  sufficient  to  elect  the  Legislature,  make 
the  laws,  and  adopt  a  constitution  establishing  slavery,  and 
all  with  the  most  profound  peace  and  quiet  in  the  Territory 
and  nation. 

Henry  Wilson  said  of  the  influence  of  this  society,  Vol.  I. 
P-  574: 

"  The  parent  society  and  its  affiliated  associations,  having  accepted 
this  position,  made  it  thereafter  the  distinctive  feature  of  its  orguni/a- 
tion,  and  the  most  prominent  article  of  their  creed.  '  No  Union  with 
slave-holders  '  was  the  motto  everewhere  emblazoned  on  their  banners. 


AMERICAN    ANTI-SLAVERY    SOCIETY.  9 

Disunion  was  their  recognized  remedy.  Other  anti-slavery  men,  of 
whatever  organization,  were  proclaimed  to  be  wanting  in  an  essential 
clement  of  all  true  and  effective  opposition.  However  earnest  and 
devoted,  they  were  deemed  inconsistent,  and  their  labors  were  regarded 
as  only  partial,  if  not  wholly  inefficient.  This  general  criticism  embraced 
every  class  of  anti-slavery  men,  and  every  form  of  anti-slavery  effort. 
From  the  adoption  of  this  policy  of  disunion  in  1844,  to  the  opening  of 
the  rebellion,  so  persistent  were  they  in  its  promulgation,  as  the  element 
of  all  effective  effort,  that  the  supporters  of  slavery  seized  upon  the  fact 
to  identify  all  anti-slavery  men  with  them,  and  to  characterize  all  oppo- 
sition to  slavery  as  disorganizing,  revolutionary,  and  unpatriotic.  It 
was  indeed  a  most  potent  weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  apologists,  per- 
petualists,  and  propagandists  of  slavery.  .  Nor  did  they  cease  its  use 
until  their  voices  were  silenced  by  the  patriotism  of  the  nation,  outraged 
as  it  was  by  their  own  treason  or  acknowledged  complicity  with  it." 

John  G.  Whittier,  in  a  letter,  said  he  was  no  blind  wor- 
shipper of  the  Union,  and  as  an  abolitionist  he  was  shut  out 
from  its  benefits.  "  But  I  see  nothing  to  be  gained  by  an 
effort — necessarily  limited,  sectional,  and  futile — to  dissolve 
it.  The  moral  and  political  power  requisite  for  doing  it 
could  far  more  easily  abolish  every  vestige  of  slavery." 

Emerson  said  of  them  : 

"  They  withdraw  themselves  from  the  common  labors  and  competi- 
tions of  the  market  and  the  caucus.  *  *  *  They  are  striking  work 
and  calling  out  for  something  to  do.  *  *  *  They  are  not  good  citi- 
zens, not  good  members  of  society;  unwillingly  they  bear  their  part  of 
the  private  and  public  burdens.  They  do  not  even  like  to  vote.  *  *  * 
They  filled  the  world  with  long  words  and  long  beards.  *  *  *  They 
began  in  words  and  ended  in  words." 

William  Birney,  in  "  Birney  and  his  Times,"  says : 

"Their  strongest  aspiration  was  to  express  in  stinging  epithets  and 
vituperative  language  their  infinite  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  slave  ; 
but  they  were  serenely  indifferent  to  its  success  or  failure.  They  would 
not  cast  a  ballot  if  the  act  would  free  three -million  of  slaves." 

Henry  C.  Wright,  in  his  book  entitled  "  Ballot-box  and 
Battle-field,"  says : 

"  Suppose  the  abolition  of  slavery  throughout  the  world  depended  on 
a  presidential  election,  and  that  my  vote  would  throw  the  scale  for  abo- 


10  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

lition.      Shall  I  vote?  I  may  not  vote  for  the  war  system  that 

is  founded  in  guilt  and  blood  and  utterly  wrong  in  its  origin,  its  princi- 
ples and  means,  even  to  abolish  slavery." 

Eli  Thayer,  in  "  Kansas  Crusade,"  says : 

"  The  Northern  people  ardently  desired  to  destroy  the  tree  (slavery) 
itself,  and  were  ready  to  adopt  any  legal  and  constitutional  plan  which 
might  do  this  work.  Garrison's  method  of  casting  out  a  devil  by  split- 
ting the  patient  in  two  lengthwise  they  did  not  approve,  for  two  reasons  : 
1st.  Because  the  patient  would  die ;  2d.  Because  the  devil  would  live.'' 

Schouler,  in  his  last  work,  says  : 

"  They  were  not  actors  in  affairs,  but  agitators,  critics,  come-outers, 
coiners  of  cutting  epithets,  who  scourged  men  in  public  station  with  as 
little  mercy  as  the  slave-driver  did  his  victim,  less  pleased  that  their 
work  was  being  done  than  displeased  because  it  was  not  done  faster. 
Their  political  blunders  widened  the  breach  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  and  their  constant  instigation  was  to  throttle  that  law  which  was 
the  breath  of  our  being — to  trample  down  the  Union,  rather  than  con- 
vert, constrain,  or  conquer  shivery  behind  the  shield  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. This  was  because  of  their  fanaticism.  Not  one  leader  of  this 
school  ever  took  a  responsible  part  in  affairs,  or  co-operated  in  lawful 
and  practical  measures  for  promoting  the  reform  they  caressed  in  their 
preaching." 

Samuel  Bowles,  in  Boston  Evening  Traveller,  May  29, 
1857,  says: 

"  The  great  majority  of  the  Garrisonian  party  forfeit  all  claim  to  our 
esteem  by  being  blasphemous,  vituperative,  coarse,  and  vile  in  their 
manners  and  language.  We  need  not  instance  a  man  named  Foss,  who 
has  the  impudence  to  claim  the  title  Reverend,  and  who  began  a  sen 
tence  in  a  speech  in  New  York  week  before  last  with  the  phrase,  '  I 
hate  the  Union,'  and  ended  it  by  saying,  '  I  hate  Jesus  Christ.'  All  the 
leaders  of  the  Garrisonian  party  sat  around,  but  no  one  of  them  rebuked 
the  monstrous  blasphemy.  The  speech  was  circulated  through  all  the 
Southern  papers,  and  Mr.  Ffoss  was  denounced  as  'a  Republican.'  It 
he  had  died  in  his  cradle  he  would  have  done  better  by  himself  than  to 
have  lived  to  commit  this  sin.  The  same  style  of  thought  has  been 
manifested  at  this  gathering  in  the  Melodeon.  We  listened  yesterday 
to  the  comprehensive  abuse  uttered  by  Mr.  Higginson,  who  also  claimed 
to  be  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  If  we  had  stayed  five  minutes  longer 
than  we  did,  and  his  effect  had  been  equal  to  his  effort,  we  should  have 


ABOLITIONISTS.  I  I 

been  convinced  that  the  population  of  the  world  consisted  of  one  billion 
of  depraved  wretches  and  one  perfect  man  named  Higginson.  It  was 
just  so  with  the  whole  of  them,  the  same  eternal  whine,  redeemed  only 
in  the  case  of  Wendell  Phillips  by  eloquence.  All  such  stuff  does  harm. 
The  few  Garrisonians  whom  we  believe  honest  in  uttering  it,  we  wish 
could  be  brought  under  different  influences,  for  they  are  unconsciously 
injuring  the  anti-slavery  cause.  They  are  sustaining  by  their  weight  of 
character  an  organization  four-fifths  of  whose  members  are  selfish  or 
indiscreet  men  and  unsexed  women ;  an  organization  which  has  become 
fruitless,  and  will  die  in  the  next  generation.  For  the  re- 

mainder of  the  Garrisonian  party,  the  strong-minded  women,  and  Un- 
professional humanitarians  who  earn  their  daily  bread  by  injuring  the 
noble  cause  they  propose  to  serve,  we  have  no  feelings  but  of  ridicule 
and  contempt.  It  is  useless  to  meet  them  in  argument.  They  are  not 
worth  treating  with  pity.  One  of  their  peculiarities  is  a  key  to  their 
whole  character.  The  nearer  a  well-behaved  man  comes  to  their  pro- 
fessed anti-slavery  doctrines,  the  more  vilely  they  abuse  him." 

Such  opinions  might  be  quoted  indefinitely,  but  enough 
have  been  cited  to  show  the  estimation  in  which  the  advo- 
cates of  no  union,  no  voting,  no  government  were  held  by 
the  voting  anti-slavery  men  of  the  time,  and  it  requires  no 
argument  to  prove  that  people  entertaining  such  views  of 
government  could  be  of  no  use  in  arresting  the  progress  of 
slavery  by  making  a  free  State  in  Kansas.  While  this  is  true, 
among  these  men  and  women  were  some  of  the  most  eloquent 
and  conscientious  to  be  found  in  any  country  or  age,  and 
their  antagonism  to  the  Government  and  Church  of  the 
time  had  some  excuse.  They  had  seen  the  Government  at 
Washington  prostituted  to  the  spread  of  slavery  since  1820, 
with  apparently  no  hope  for  the  better  within  the  Union. 
Having  lost  faith  in  Congressmen  and  President,  they  also 
lost  faith  in  mankind.  Being  expert  moral  hair-splitters,  they 
came  to  regard  the  Constitution  as  a  shield  for  the  protection 
of  slavery,  at  least  within  the  slave  States,  and  authority  for 
making  every  State  in  the  Union  hunting-ground  for  fugitive 
slaves.  To  justify  this  no- voting,  non-action  position  they 
claimed  that  allegiance  to  a  sinful  government  was  sin,  and 
as  no  human  government  on  earth  was  perfect,  they  would 


12  THE     KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

acknowledge  no  government  except  one  in  heaven,  of  which 
"Border  Ruffians"  in  Kansas  had  no  conception.  Being 
non-resistants  themselves,  they  believed  they  could  dissolve 
the  Union  without  bloodshed  or  resistance  on  the  part  of 
the  Government,  an  error  they  recognized  later  when  the 
slave  States  attempted  it. 

As  for  the  churches,  they  held  every  member  accountable 
for  the  resolutions  and  utterances  of  synods,  conventions,  and 
prominent  individuals  of  the  different  denominations.  In 
the  early  days  of  the  agitation  many  of  these  were  in  defense 
of  slavery  as  a  divine  institution. 

Geo.  W.  Julian,  candidate  for  Vice-President  on  the  I-ree- 
Soil  ticket  in  1852,  said,  in  his  "  Speeches  on  Political  Ques- 
tions," page  79  : 

"  What  are  our  churches  doing  for  the  anti-slavery  reform?  Ala>,! 
the  popular  religion  of  the  country  lies  imbedded  in  the  politics  and 
trade  of  the  country.  It  has  sunk  to  a  dead  level  with  the  ruling  secular 
influences  of  the  age.  It  has  ceased  in  be  a  power,  practically  capable 
of  saving  the  world  from  its  MII>.  What  are  these  relJL 

bodies  doing  for  the  slave?  As  I  have  already  said,  they  are  breaking 
bread  with  his  owner  around  the  communion  table.  They  are  receiving 
shive-holders  into  full  fellowship.  The  preachers  and  members  of  our 
Protestant  denominations  alone  own  over  six  hundred  thousand  sla\i •>. 
The  Methodist,  Baptist,  and  Presbyterian  all  have  divided  on  the  slavery 
question,  but  both  divisions  tolerate  slave-holding.  In  all 

the  late  publications  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  I  am  informed  that 
not  a  syllable  can  be  found  against  slavery.  Such  sins  as  Sabbath- 
breaking,  dancing,  fine  dressing,  etc.,  are  abundantly  noticed  and  con- 
demned, but  not  even  a  whisper  must  go  forth  against  the  '  sum  of  all 
villainies.'  " 

Two  pamphlets  were  published,  one  entitled  "  The  Ameri- 
can Churches  the  Bulwarks  of  American  Slavery,"  and  the 
other,  "The  Church  as  it  is;  the  Forlorn  Hope  of  Slavery." 
These  pamphlets  were  wholly  made  up  of  testimony  from 
the  churches  and  church  members  themselves,  and  afford 
some  excuse,  at  least,  for  the  arraignment  made  by  the  no- 
church  abolitionists.  As  the  leading  preachers  defended  the 
institution  of  slavery  from  the  Bible,  the  abolitionists  attacked 


ABOLITIONISTS.  13 

that  book  as  of  no  more  authority  than  any  other  work  of 
ancient  origin.  As  the  churches  claimed  the  Sabbath  as  too 
holy  to  be  used  for  anti-slavery  work,  that  too  was  assailed 
as  a  mere  human  device ;  and  so  on  they  went  till  not  only 
the  Constitution,  but  the  Bible,  churches,  and  the  Sabbath 
were  discarded  and  denounced.  Much  they  said  was  mer- 
ited and  just,  but  the  main  mistake  they  made  was  in  not 
improving  every  opportunity  offered  to  help  the  slave  as 
they  found  him.  If,  instead  of  fighting  the  Constitution,  the 
Union,  and  the  churches  as  such,  they  had  joined  with  all 
anti-slavery  men,  church  members  and  others,  and  filled 
Congress  and  the  presidential  chair  with  men  who  would  go 
to  the  limit  of  the  Constitution  in  abolishing  slavery  in  the 
I  )istrict  of  Columbia  and  the  Territories,  as  well  as  the 
coastwise  slave  trade,  the  road  might  have  opened  before 
them  for  the  final  extinction  of  slavery,  leaving  the  Constitu- 
tion and  the  churches  intact.  Or,  when  beaten  in  Congress, 
they  could  have  turned  their  attention  to  the  settlement  of 
Kansas,  where  the  decisive  battle  of  slavery  was  to  be 
fought.  Here  was  their  irretrievable  mistake.  They  were 
incapable  of  adapting  their  warfare  to  the  changing  condi- 
tions, and  failed.  While  they  were  bombarding  the  Union 
and  the  churches,  that  they  might  reach  the  slave  over  their 
ruins,  the  door  was  thrown  wide  open,  by  way  of  Kansas, 
to  the  very  citadel  of  the  slave  power,  and  that,  too,  under 
the  sanction  and  protection  of  Constitution,  Union,  laws, 
and  churches.  Others  saw  this  opening,  entered  it,  and 
gained  the  victory,  and  to  them  must  belong  the  credit. 
These  men  could  see  that  the  act  organizing  Kansas  Ter- 
ritory opened  every  Territory  and  free  State  to  slavery ;  but ' 
could  not  or  did  not  see  that  the  same  act  equally  opened 
every  Territory  and  slave  State  to  freedom,  if  the  people  of 
these  Commonwealths  respectively  would  have  it  so.  The 
language  will  bear  repeating  a  second  time :  "  It  being  the 
true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  act  not  to  legislate  slavery 
into  any  Territory  or  State,  nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom  ;  but 


14  THi:    KANSAS    t  ( >NI  LICT. 

to  leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and  reg- 
ulate their  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject 
only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States."  Hero  was 
a  solemn  pledge  that  Congress  would  not  interfere  to  pre- 
vent the  extension  of  freedom  to  every  Territory  and  State 
of  the  Union.  In  this  act  the  slave  power  overreached 
itself,  and  it  was  blunder  number  one  in  the  "  beginning  of 
the  end "  of  slavery.  This  the  slave  power  did  not  see, 
neither  did  the  no-union,  no-voting  abolitionists  see  it,  but  it 
was  seen  nevertheless,  and  turned  to  freedom's  account,  as 
will  appear  in  the  pages  that  follow.  Charles  Sumner  said 
of  the  Kansas  bill,  that  it  was  "  at  once  the  worst  and  the 
best  bill  on  which  Congress  ever  acted."  It  was  the  best 
bill,  "  for  it  annuls  all  past  compromises  with  slavery,  and 
makes  all  future  compromises  impossible.  Thus  it  puts 
freedom  and  slavery  face  to  face,  and  bids  them  grapple." 
Unfortunately,  non-resistants  would  not  use  grappling-irons, 
and  free  States  could  not  be  made  without  votes. 

One  other  organization  existed  which  opposed  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery,  called  the  Liberty  or  Free-soil  party.  The 
members  of  this  organization  were  voters  and  fighters,  if  need 
were,  but  their  party  machinery  was  not  adapted  to  mak- 
ing States.  It  had  done  good  service  in  agitating  the  slavery 
(juestion,  and  in  securing  the  election  to  Congress  of  many 
able  champions  of  freedom.  Unlike  the  American  Anti- 
slavery  Society,  this  party  was  loyal  to  the  Constitution  and 
the  Union.  In  the  language  of  James  G.  Birney,  their  pres- 
idential candidate  at  two  elections,  they  "regarded  the 
Constitution  with  unabated  affection.  They  hold  in  no 
common  veneration  the  memory  of  those  who  made  it. 
They  would  be  the  last  to  brand  Franklin  and  King  and 
Morris  and  Wilson  and  Sherman  and  Hamilton  with  the 
ineffaceable  infamy  of  intending  to  engraft  upon  the  Con- 
stitution, and  therefore  to  perpetuate,  a  system  of  oppression 
in  absolute  antagonism  to  its  high  and  professed  objects. 
*  *  *  In  the  political  aspects  of  the  question  they  have 


FREE-SOIL    PARTY.  15 

nothing  to  ask  except  what  the  Constitution  authorizes — no 
change  to  desire  but  that  the  Constitution  may  be  restored 
to  its  pristine  republican  purity."-  "J.  G.  Birney  and  his 
Times,"  page  338. 

This  party  cast  in  1840,  for  President,  7100  votes;  in 
1844,  62,300;  in  1848,  300,000;  in  1852,  155,000. 

Besides  members  of  this  party,  there  were  many  belong- 
ing to  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties  who  were  made 
indignant  by  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and 
who  were  ready  to  abandon  their  party  organizations  in  the 
nefarious  work  of  extending  the  institution  of  slavery  to  ter- 
ritory that  had  been  consecrated  to  freedom  by  solemn 
compact.  There  was  no  lack  of  anti-slavery  sentiment,  or 
of  desire  to  save  Kansas  to  freedom,  but  the  political  parties 
could  only  act  in  their  legitimate  sphere — elect  Presidents, 
Congressmen,  and  other  officials — while  the  work  in  hand 
now  was  something  that  political  parties,  Congress,  and  the 
President  could  not  do,  and  aid  must  be  sought  elsewhere, 
and  other  machinery  invented.  It  is  true,  Hon.  Geo.  W. 
Julian  had  said : 

"  Does  any  one  ask  how  we  shall  successfully  wage  war 
against  this  monster  power  ?  I  answer  that  American  pol- 
itics and  American  religion  are  the  bulwarks  which  support 
it,  and  that  we  must  attack  them.  If  we  do  this  wisely  and 
perseveringly  we  shall  succeed.  \Ve  need  no  new  weapons, 
but  only  a  faithful  use  of  those  we  already  possess,  in  more 
direct  assaults  upon  these  strongholds  of  the  enemy."  This 
was  spoken  in  1852,  and  the  American  Anti-slavery  Society 
and  the  Free-Soil  party  had  waged  vigorous  and  persevering 
war  with  their  religious  and  political  "weapons"  till  1854, 
when  every  foot  of  territory  in  the  United  States  was  open 
to  slavery.  Evidently  some  new  weapons  must  be  found 
or  the  victory  of  the  slave  power  would  remain  final  and 
complete. 


CHAPTER  II. 

WEAPONS    AM)    MACHINERY   NEEDED. SETTLERS-  REQUIRED. 

HOW    SECURED. 

To  understand  what  "weapons"  and  what  machinery 
would  be  in  demand  in  making  a  free  State  in  Kansas,  a 
survey  of  the  field  should  be  taken.  The  Organic  Act  left 
to  the  voters  of  the  Territory  the  settlement  of  the  question 
of  slavery  in  the  State.  The  first  step  in  making  a  State  wa* 
to  elect  a  territorial  Legislature,  that  might  provide  for  a 
constitutional  convention,  which  in  turn  could  frame  a  con- 
stitution authorizing  or  forbidding  slavery.  The  way  wa> 
plain.  But  one  road  was  open  for  making  a  free  State,  and 
that,  and  that  only,  must  be  travelled.  Colonizing  slaves  in 
Africa,  shouting  "no  union  with  slave-holders"  in  Boston, 
preaching  the  Wilmot  Proviso  in  Congress,  and  political 
campaigns  in  the  States,  were  of  no  avail  in  the  pending 
struggle.  Voters  must  be  had,  and  as  no  person  but  a  set- 
tler would  have  the  right  to  vote,  settlers  were  of  the  first 
importance.  How  could  they  be  secured  ?  Would  they 
come  from  the  free  States  in  sufficient  numbers  to  outvote 
those  who  should  come  from  the  slave  States;'  The  decree 
of  the  slave  power  had  gone  forth  that  Kansas  should  be  a 
.slave  State,  and  that  power  in  Church  and  State,  in  Synod 
and  Congress,  was  omnipotent.  Could  it  be  successfully 
encountered  in  Kansas?  If  the  eloquence  of  Phillips,  dar- 
rison.  Sumner,  and  Seward  was  </f  no  avail,  what  could  !><• 
hoped  from  unfilled,  unheralded,  and  unknown  settler> .' 
Who  would  have  the  presumption  to  enter  the  lists  ?  Slavery 
had  every  advantage.  A  slave  State  bordered  Kansas  on 


THK    ISSUE.  17 

the  east  containing  a  population  sufficient  in  numbers  and 
daring  to  settle  several  new  Territories.  This  population, 
bold,  blustering,  and  reckless  like  the  people  of  most  fron- 
tier settlements,  was  thoroughly  aroused  to  the  importance 
of  the  conflict.  Two  billions  of  dollars  worth  of  property 
in  slaves,  besides  the  domestic  relations  of  the  people  of  the 
Southern  States,  were  involved.  The  life  or  death  of  slavery 
was  the  issue,  and  was  recognized  to  be  the  issue  by  both 
North  and  South.  The  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Mercury  presented 
the  question  as  follows  : 

"  First.  By  consent  of  parties,  the  present  contest  in  Kansas  is  made 
the  turning-point  in  the  destinies  of  slavery  and  abolition.  If  the 
South  triumphs,  abolitionism  will  be  defeated  and  shorn  of  its  power 
for  all  time.  If  she  is  defeated,  abolition  will  grow  more  insolent  and 
aggressive,  until  the  utter  ruin  of  the  South  is  consummated. 

"  Second.  If  the  South  secures  Kansas,  she  will  extend  slavery  into 
all  the  territory  south  of  the  fortieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  to  the 
Rio  Grande,  and  this,  of  course,  will  secure  for  her  pent-up  institution 
of  slavery  an  ample  outlet,  and  restore  her  power  in  Congress.  If  the 
North  secures  Kansas,  the  power  of  the  South  in  Congress  will  gradu- 
ally be  diminished,  the  States  of  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ar- 
kansas, and  Texas,  together  with  the  adjacent  Territories,  will  gradually 
become  abolitionized,  and  the  slave  population  confined  to  the  States 
east  of  the  Mississippi  will  become  valueless.  All  depends  upon  the 
action  of  the  present  moment." 

This  issue  was  accepted  by  the  people  in  the  border  coun- 
ties of  Missouri,  and  they  were  at  first  troubled  with  no  fears 
for  the  result.  They  were  jubilant,  bold,  and  defiant,  threat- 
ening with  death  any  anti-slavery  man  who  should  attempt 
to  settle  in  the  Territory.  In  less  than  a  month  after  the 
passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  the  writer  started  for 
Kansas  to  arrange  for  its  settlement.  On  passing  Jefferson 
City,  the  capital  of  Missouri,  on  the  4th  of  July,  several 
prominent  politicians  came  on  board  the  steamer,  and  among 
them  General  Stringfellow.  In  the  conversation  it  was  as- 
sumed as  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  fate  of  Kansas 
was  sealed.  It  was  boldly  asserted  that  "  no  damned  aboli- 
tionist would  be  permitted  to  settle  in  Kansas,  and  every 


l8  THK     KANSAS    (ONKI.IC   I. 

man  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  was  an  abolitionist." 
On  reaching  Kansas  C'ity  a  reward  was  found  offered  for 
"  one  Eli  Thayer,  a  leading  and  ruling  spirit  among  the 
abolitionists  of  New  York  and  New  England.  *  *  * 
Representing  all  the  abolitionists,  he  consequently  bears  all 
their  sins  !  " 

General  D.  R.  Atchison  was  the  recognized  leader  of  the 
pro-slavery  cause,  and  most  of  the  leading  politicians  and 
citizens  of  western  Missouri  were  his  co-workers.  Such  was 
the  condition  of  the  border,  while  the  administration  at 
Washington  was  wholly  devoted  to  the  establishment  of 
slavery  in  Kansas,  Jefferson  Davis  being  Secretary  of  War. 
In  the  North  and  East  the  outlook  was  equally  gloomy. 
The  American  Anti-slavery  Society  never  had  any  faith  in 
saving  Kansas  to  freedom.  Wendell  Phillips  said,  as  re- 
ported in  the  Liberator  : 

"  Talk  about  stopping  the  progress  of  slavery  and  of  saving  Nebraska 
and  Kansas!  Why,  the  fate  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas  was  sealed  the 
first  hour  Stephen  Arnold  Douglas  consented  to  play  his  perfidious 
part.  *  *  *  The  moment  you  throw  the  struggle  with  slavery  into 
the  half-barbarous  West,  where  things  are  decided  by  the  revolver  and 
bowie-knife,  slavery  triumphs." 

Mr.  Garrison  said  : 

"  While  the  Union  continues,  the  slave  power  will  have  everything 
its  own  way,  in  the  last  resort.  *  *  Slavery  is  certain  to  go  into 

Kansas,  nay,  slaves  are  now  carried  there  daily,  and  offered  for  sale 
with  impunity.  *  *  *  Will  Kansas  be  a  free  State?  We  answer. 
no.  Not  while  the  existing  Union  stands.  Its  fate  is  settled. 
*  *  *  Eastern  emigration  will  avail  nothing  to  keep  slavery  out  of 
Kansas.  We  have  never  had  any  faith  in  it  as  a  breakwater  against  the 
inundations  of  the  dark  waters  of  oppression.  *  The  omnipres- 

ent power  of  the  general  (lovernment  will  co-operate  with  the  vandals 
of  Missouri  to  crush  out  what  little  anti-slavery  sentiment  may  exist  in 
Kansas,  and  to  sustain  their  lawless  proceedings  in  that  Territory.  This 
will  prove  decisive  in  the  struggle." 

Theodore  Parker,  in  Music  Hall,  said: 

"  In  the  steady  triumph  of  despotism,  ten  years  more  like  the  ten 
years  past  and  it  will  be  all  over  with  the  liberties  of  America.  Every- 


])ISC<U'KAi;KMKXT.  19 

thing  must  go  clown,  and  the  heel  of  the  tyrant  will  be  on  our  necks. 
It  will  be  all  over  with  the  rights  of  man  in  America,  and  you  and  I 
must  go  to  Australia,  to  Italy,  or  to  Siberia  for  our  freedom,  or  perish 
with  the  liberty  which  our  fathers  fought  for  and  secured  to  themselves, 
not  to  their  faithless  sons.  Shall  America  thus  miserably  perish?  Such 
is  the  aspect  of  things  to-day." 

Mr.   rhayer,  in  his  "  Kansas  Crusade,"  says: 

''  On  May  30,  1854,  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  containing  the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  was  signed  by  President  Pierce,  and  be- 
came the  law  of  the  land.  When  this  news  reached  the  Northern  States 
the  bells  were  tolled  for  the  death  of  freedom.  The  slave  States,  with 
thirty-five  years  of  political  supremacy  and  the  prestige  of  this  last  great 
victory  over  the  North,  with  perfect  discipline  and  irresistible  power, 
were  confident  of  undisputed  control  in  the  Government  for  generations 
to  come.  They  already  had  the  Chief  Executive,  his  Cabinet,  the  Su- 
preme Court,  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  the  army  and  navy  to  do 
their  bidding.  Great  as  was  their  present  power,  their  prospective 
power  was  even  more  alarming.  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  with  all  the 
Territories  west  and  south  of  them,  were  to  become  slave  States.  Five 
more  were  to  be  made  of  Texas.  The  purpose  of  acquiring  Cuba  and 
Central  America  for  their  further  aggrandizement  was  developing  into 
action.  Why,  then,  should  the  South  doubt  for  an  instant  the  certainty 
of  her  perpetual  power?  In  a  few  years  her  Senators  in  Congress 
would  nearly  double  the  number  from  the  North.  Their  skill  in  diplo- 
macy and  politics,  acquired  by  unremitting  practice  and  study,  much 
excelled  that  of  the  Northern  people,  whose  minds  were  occupied  by  a 
manifold  system  of  industries  requiring  constant  attention,  as  \vell  as 
by  a  great  number  of  social,  commercial,  charitable,  religious,  and 
educational  organizations.  No  wonder  that  we  were  hopeless  and  help- 
less. We  had  no  political  organization  of  any  strength  to  oppose  to 
slavery.  During  all  this  period  of  the  successful  aggressive 

and  increasing  strength  of  slavery,  there  was  in  the  North  corresponding 
apprehension  and  alarm.  On  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
the  apprehension  became  despondency,  and  the  alarm  became  despair. 
The  speeches  in  Congress  and  the  editorials  of  influential 
journalists  prove  that  there  was  no  hope  of  rescuing  Kansas  from  the 
grasp  of  this  resistless  power,  should  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  become 
a  law." 

While  this  is  a  faithful  presentation  of  the  effects  of  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  upon  the  North  as  a 
whole,  there  were  many  mind->  upon  which  that  repeal  pro- 


20  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

duced  other  results.  Conservative  men,  especially  members 
of  the  Whig  party,  were  shocked  at  the  bad  faith  shown  by 
their  Southern  colleagues  in  Congress — only  one  of  whom 
voted  against  the  Kansas  bill — and  felt  the  necessity  of  seek- 
ing other  party  affiliations.  For  over  thirty  years  all  parties 
had  acquiesced  in  the  settlement  of  the  vexed  question  by 
the  compromise  of  1820,  although  the  North  felt  that  it  had 
been  overreached  in  the  bargain,  and  now,  after  the  South 
had  received  its  full  consideration,  to  have  the  bargain  re- 
pudiated was  too  much  for  even  "hunker"  Whigs  of  the 
North  to  accept  in  silence. 

Free-soil  men  also  were  aroused  with  fresh  zeal,  and  de- 
termined to  take  the  case  to  the  people  in  all  future  elec- 
tions and  demand  reparation  for  this  bad  faith.  Congress- 
man Meacham,  of  Vermont,  said: 

"  I  look  on  that  compromise  as  a  contract,  as  a  thing  done  for  a  con- 
sideration, and  that  the  parties  to  that  contract  arc  bound  in  honor  to 
execute  it  in  good  faith.  The  consideration  on  one  side  was  paid  and 
received  in  advance." 

This  was  the  view  generally  taken  at  the  North,  although 
combated  by  some  members  of  Congress  from  the  South. 
Mr.  Goodrich,  of  Massachusetts,  said,  "If  the  Kansas  bill 
should  pass,  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  would 
wipe  out  as  with  a  sponge  all  compromises " ;  and  Mr. 
Campbell,  of  Ohio,  said  he  would  wage  "  an  unrelenting 
war  against  slavery  to  the  furthermost  limits  of  the  Consti- 
tution." Many  Southern  people  disapproved  of  the  repeal, 
and  warned  slave-holders  to  beware  of  the  agitation  it  would 
create.  Mr.  Houston,  of  Texas,  called  upon  the  Southern 
Senators,  "  to  regard  the  contract  once  made  to  harmonize 
and  preserve  the  Union.  Maintain  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise !  Stir  not  up  agitation  !  Give  us  peace !  Union  or 
disunion  depends  upon  the  decision  of  this  question." 

Eli  Thayer,  in  his  "Crusade."  says.  "The  South,  stimu- 
lated unreasonably  by  her  former  success,  ventured  foolishly 
to  overthrow  a  time-honored  compact,  and  subject  herself  to 


MALHINKRY    REQUIRED.  21 

a  charge  of  bad  faith.  In  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise she  illustrated  the  words  of  the  sacred  writer :  '  Pride 
goeth  before  destruction,  and  a  haughty  spirit  before  a  fall.' 
By  this  act  she  had  made  it  possible  to  combine  all  political 
parties  in  the  North  against  the  extension  of  slavery,  should 
the  right  method  of  doing  this  great  work  be  well  presented 
and  faithfully  urged.  All  were  ready  now  to  rebuke  the 
arrogance  of  slavery,  and  also  to  end  its  existence,  if  that 
could  be  done  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union." 

But  a  combination  of  all  political  parties  for  mere  political 
action  would  not  avail  to  save  Kansas.  It  is  true  that,  within 
one  year  of  the  repeal  of  the  compromise,  eleven  Senators 
and  120  of  the  142  Northern  members  of  the  House  were 
elected  who  repudiated  the  repeal,  but  even  this  number 
could  accomplish  nothing  in  Congress.  There  was  now  but 
one  way  of  salvation  for  Kansas,  and  that  was  not  through 
the  executive,  legislative,  or  judicial  departments  of  the 
Government,  through  anti-slavery  societies  or  political  or- 
ganizations, but  the  promised  land,  as  of  old,  must  be  secured 
by  taking  possession  of  it,  or  not  at  all.  How  could  this  be 
done?  Here  were  bowie-knives,  pistols,  shot-guns,  rifles, 
and  cannon  in  the  hands  of  the  Philistines  on  the  border  and 
within  the  Territory,  under  direction  of  "  Blue  Lodges," 
"  Sons  of  the  South,"  and  other  secret  organizations,  and  the 
attempt  to  occupy  the  land  by  the  ordinary  methods  of  pio- 
neer settlement  would  have  been  as  futile  as  for  the  Israelites 
thus  to  have  taken  possession  of  Canaan.  Nothing  short  of 
concerted  action  by  the  friends  of  freedom  could  avail,  and 
that  could  be  secured  only  by  organization.  Where  could 
an  organizer  be  found  ?  Garrison  and  Phillips  were  the  great 
anti-slavery  agitators,  but  neither  had  faith  in  success.  Like 
the  men  who  were  sent  to  spy  out  the  land  of  Canaan,  they 
predicted  that  the  land  would  "  eat  up  "  the  Free-State  men  ; 
"all  the  people  we  saw  in  it  are  men  of  great  stature.  And 
there  we  saw  the  giants,  the  sons  of  Anak.  which  come  of 


JJ  THK     KANSAS    O  >N  FI.1C  I'. 

the  giants,  and  we  were  in  our  own  sight  as  grasshoppers, 
and  so  we  were  in  their  sight."  And  all  the  anti-slavery 
society  to  which  they  belonged  agreed  with  them,  and  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with.taking  possession  of  Kansas.  But 
there  were  two  of  the  spies,  named  Joshua  and  Caleb,  that, 
when  they  heard  this  gloomy  report,  rent  their  clothes. 
"And  they  spake  unto  all  the  company  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  saying,  the  land  which  we  passed  through  to  search 
it,  is  an  exceeding  good  land.  If  the  Lord  delight  in  us, 
then  he  will  bring  us  into  this  land,  and  give  it  to  us ;  a  land 
which  floweth  with  milk  and  honey.  Only  rebel  ye  not 
against  the  Lord,  neither  fear  ye  the  people  of  the  land  ;  for 
they  are  bread  for  us ;  their  defense  is  departed  from  them. 
and  the  Lord  is  with  us ;  fear  them  not."  Some  of  the 
Joshuas  and  Calebs  of  the  emigration  to  Kansas  are  named 
in  Mr.  Male's  "Kansas  and  Nebraska,"  published  in  1854. 
On  page  2 1 9  he  says  : 

"  Mr.  Eli  Thayer,  a  member  til  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, circulated  a  petition,  in  the  month  of  March,  1854,  for  the 
incorporation,  by  the  general  Court  of  Massachusetts,  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Emigrant  Aid  Company.  The  petition  was  at  once  granted  by  the 
Legislature,  and  a  charter  given,  of  which  the  first  section  reads — 

"'Sec.  I.  Benjamin  C.  Clark,  Isaac  Livermore,  Charles  Allen,  Isaac 
Ihtvis,  William  G.  Bates,  Steven  C.  1'hillips,  Charles  C.  Ha/.ewell, 
Alexander  II.  Bullock,  Henry  Wilson,  James  S.  Whitney,  Samuel  E. 
Sew-all,  Samuel  G.  Howe,  James  Holland.  Moses  Kimball,  James  1  >. 
Green,  Francis  W.  Bird,  <>ti>  Clapp,  Anson  Burlingame,  Eli  Thayer, 
and  Otis  Rich,  their  associates,  sueccsM>rs,  and  assigns,  are  hereby 
made  a  corporation,  by  the  name  of  the  Massachusetts  Emigrant  Aid 
Company,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  emigrants  to  settle  in  the  West; 
and  for  this  purpose  they  have  all  the  powers  and  privileges,  and  l>e 
.subject  to  all  the  duties,  restrictions,  and  liabilities  set  forth  in  the 
thirty-eighth  and  forty-fourth  chapters  of  the  revised  statutes.' 

"  The  charter  was  signed  by  the  Governor  on  the  26th  day  of  April, 
and  took  effect  immediately.  The  persons  named  in  it,  and  others 
interested,  met  at  the  State  House,  in  Boston,  on  the  4th  of  May,  ac- 
cepted the  charter,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  report  a  plan  of  organ- 
ization and  system  of  operations.  The  committee  consisted  of  Kli 
Thayer,  Alexander  H.  Bullock,  and  E.  E.  Hale,  of  Worcester,  Richard 


EMU, RAM     AID    COMPANY.  23 

Hildreth  and  Otis  Clapp,  of  Boston,  who  submitted  the  following  report 
at  an  adjourned  meeting  :  '  *  The  inconveniences  and  dangers 

to  health  to  which  the  pioneer  is  subject  who  goes  out  alone  or  with  his 
family  only,  in  making  a  new  settlement,  are  familiar  to  every  American. 
The  Emigrant  Aid  Company  has  been  incorporated  to  protect  emigrants, 
as  far  as  may  be,,  from  such  inconveniences.  Its  duty  is  to  organize 
emigration  to  the  West  and  bring  it  into  system.  *  *  With  the 

advantages  attained  by  such  a  system  of  effort,  the  territory  selected  as 
the  scene  of  operations  would,  it  is  believed,  at  once  fill  up  with  free 
inhabitants.  *  *  *  It  determines  in  the  right  way  the  institutions 
of  the  unsettled  Territories,  in  less  time  than  the  discussion  of  them  has 
required  in  Congress.  *  *  It  is  impossible  that  such  a  region 

should  not  fill  up  rapidly.  The  Massachusetts  Emigrant  Aid  Company 
proposes  to  give  confidence  to  settlers,  by  giving  system  to  emigration. 
By  dispelling  the  fears  that  Kansas  will  be  a  slave  State,  the  company 
will  remove  the  only  bar  which  now  hinders  its  occupation  by  free 
settlers.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  similar  companies  will  be  formed  in 
other  free  States.  The  enterprise  is  of  that  character,  that  for  those 
who  first  enter  it,  the  more  competition  the  better.'  This  report  was 
signed  by  Eli  Thayer  for  the  committee." 

By  reason  of  objections  to  some  of  the  provisions  of  the 
charter  it  was  not  made  use  of,  and  three  trustees,  Eli 
Thayer,  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  and  J.  M.  S.  Williams,  conducted 
the  business  of  emigration  during  the  season  of  1854.  An 
organization  was  made  in  1855,  under  another  charter,  called 
the  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  with  the  follow- 
ing officers  :  President,  John  Carter  Brown,  Providence  ; 
Vice- Presidents,  Eli  Thayer.  Worcester,  J.  M.  S.  Williams, 
Cambridge  ;  Treasurer,  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  Boston  ;  Secre- 
tary, Thomas  H.  Webb,  Boston. 

Other  emigration  societies  and  leagues  were  formed  in 
several  Northern  States,  inspiring  great  faith  in  the  ultimate 
success  of  freedom  in  Kansas.  While  these  organizations 
furnished  inspiration  and  moral  support,  their  pecuniary 
means  were  limited,  and  of  secondary  importance.  The  re- 
port that  the  New  England  Society  had  a  capital  of  $5,000,000 
struck  the  South  with  terror,  and  inspired  the  North  with 
hope,  although  in  fact  its  capital  was  limited  at  first  to  a  few 
thousand  dollars  advanced  by  its  treasurer,  Amos  A.  Law- 


24  'I-HK    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

rence.  History  will  give  to  Eli  Thayer  the  credit  of  first 
publicly  accepting  the  challenge  of  the  South  with  a  plan  for 
organized  emigration  to  contend  with  the  Blue  Lodges  of 
Missouri,  and  for  his  head  was  the  first  reward  offered  by 
the  exasperated  slave  power.  But  organized  emigration  was 
not  alone  in  the  conflict.  While  Thayer  began  to  preach 
the  crusade  in  the  winter  of  1854,  a  few  settlers  from  the 
Middle  and  Western  States  preceded  his  first  colony  which 
settled  at  Lawrence.  Most  noted  among  these  were  S.  N. 
Wood,  J.  A.  Wakefield,  B.  W.  Miller,  Rev.  T.  Ferril,  and 
others,  who  acted  a  most  important  part  in  the  struggle  that 
followed.  In  truth,  no  line  of  demarkation  can  well  be  drawn 
between  settlers  who  came  from  different  States,  or  under 
different  auspices,  as  on  arrival  they  became  a  band  of  brothers 
engaged  in  a  common  cause.  It  would  be  folly  for  the  head 
to  say  to  the  foot,  I  have  no  need  of  thee ;  and  the  eye  to 
the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of  thee ;  and  it  would  have  been 
equal  folly  for  settlers  from  one  State  to  say  to  the  set- 
tlers of  another  State  that  the  cause  had  no  need  of  them. 
No  such  feeling  existed  in  the  fifties,  neither  does  it  now 
exist  in  the  breast  of  any  surviving  actor.  Colonel  S.  N. 
Wood,  whose  settlement  in  Kansas  preceded  the  settlement 
of  Lawrence,  and  whose  services  were  indispensable,  lias 
this  to  say  of  the  pioneers,  in  his  quarter-centennial  speech 
at  Topeka : 

"  The  pilgrims  of  tlie  Ma\!flira<cr  sought  the  wild  shores  of  America 
that  they  might  he  free  to  worship  God  in  their  own  way  ;  free  to  believe 
in  religious  matters  whatever  seemed  right  to  their  own  conscience. 
They  sought  freedom  for  themselves.  But  the  pioneers  of  Kansas — 
both  Western  and  Eastern — heard  the  call  which  in  every  age  has  thrilled 
the  souls  of  men  with  heroic  power.  At  this  critical  period,  when  the 
hosts  of  slavery  and  freedom  were  marshalling  for  this  great  and  de- 
cisive encounter,  in  their  inmost  souls  they  heard  the  Divine  void- 
calling  for  defenders  of  liberty;  and  they  obeyed  the  signal  that  pointed 
to  Kansas  as  the  great  battle-ground.  The  pioneers  who  became 
trusted  leaders  among  the  Free  State  hosts  were  men  who  could  not 
rest  in  their  old  comfortable  homes  when  the  demon  of  human  slavery 
was  clutching  at  freedom's  rightful  heritage.  Many  of  them  were  the 


KMK1KANT    AII>    COMPANY.  25 

sons  of  the  old  anti-slavery  agitators,  r.iiil  had  learned  from  child- 
hood  to  hate  slavery  ami  to  love  freedom,  and  claim  it  as  the  right 
of  all  men,  races,  and  conditions.  These  men,  meeting  upon  our  prai- 
ries for  the  tirst  time,  recognized  each  other  as  kindred  spirits.  They 
spoke  the  same  language,  and  were  working  for  the  same  good  pur- 
pose." 


CHAPTER    III. 

CHARACTERISTICS     OF    CONTESTANTS. EASTERN    AND    WEST- 
ERN   SETTLERS. THE    OVERLAND     ROUTE    TO    CALIFORNIA 

IN     1849. THE    SACRAMENTO    RIOT. 

SOMETHING  of  the  nature  of  the  conflict  in  Kansas  may  be 
learned  from  the  characteristics  of  the  contestants.  Settlers 
from  the  North  and  East  came  from  communities  where  per- 
son and  property  were  protected  by  law,  and  the  carrying  of 
weapons  for  self-defense  was  unknown.  Many  had  come  to 
look  even  upon  war  among  nations  as  a  relic  of  barbarism. 
Not  a  few  of  the  Kansas  emigrants  had  imbibed  something 
of  the  views  and  spirit  of  the  non-resistant  agitators,  and 
were  disposed  to  interpret  the  teachings  of  the  Nazarene 
literally,  to  return  good  for  evil,  when  one  cheek  should  be 
smitten  to  turn  the  other  to  the  smiter,  and  if  compelled  to 
part  with  their  coats,  to  give  their  cloaks  also.  As  a  rule,  the 
Free-State  settlers  were  averse  to  a  resort  to  physical  force  in 
the  settlement  of  any  conflict,  much  less  a  conflict  purely 
moral  and  political.  These  were  some  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  Northern  settlers  while  at  home,  but  they  were  found 
unsuited  to  a  Southern  and  Western  climate.  It  was  found 
that  the  precepts  of  Christianity,  including  non-resistance, 
might  work  admirably  where  all  were  Christians  and  non-re- 
sistants, but  it  was  also  discovered  that  the  devil  would  flee 
only  when  resisted,  and  that  pearls  were  not  suitable  diet  for 
all  animals  and  on  all  occasions. 

The  South  and  Southwest  were  in  many  respects  mosf  un- 
like the  East  and  North.  Where  a  large  class  was  to  be  kept 
in  servitude,  nothing  but  physical  force  would  avail.  Hence 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF    CONTESTANTS'.  27 

deadly  weapons  and  personal  prowess  were  indispensable, 
and  the  man  who  would  pass  current  as  a  gentleman  must 
be  prepared  at  all  times  to  protect  his  person  and  his  honor 
by  force.  Also  in  the  new  West,  in  the  absence  of  the  civil 
code,  every  man  was  a  law  unto  himself  and  constituted  in 
his  own  person  judge,  jury,  and  executioner.  In  such  a 
community  human  life,  instead  of  being  sacred  as  in  the 
North  and  East,  was  cheap,  and  could  be  sacrificed  at  any 
time  to  resent  personal  insult  and  to  protect  peculiar  institu- 
tions, if  not  for  sordid  gain.  At  the  same  time  the  better 
class  of  the  citizens  of  the  South  had  a  high  sense  of  honor, 
and  could  not  be  excelled  in  any  part  of  the  country  for 
civility,  courtesy,  hospitality,  and  business  integrity. 

Perhaps  life  in  the  newly  settled  West,  and  the  mingling 
of  the  two  civilizations  as  found  in  the  law-abiding  East  and 
the  go-as-you-please  West,  cannot  better  be  illustrated  than 
by  giving  an  outline  picture  of  the  early  days  of  California, 
from  1849  to  1851.  As  the  Eastern  emigration  to  that  Ter- 
ritory largely  passed  through  Missouri  and  Kansas  Territory, 
drawing  with  it  a  large  emigration  from  Missouri  itself  and 
the  South,  many  things  happened  that  had  an  important 
bearing  upon  the  conflict  in  Kansas  at  a  later  date.  This 
outline  is  the  more  important  as  it  will  serve  to  give  the 
squatters'  side  of  the  most  exciting  conflict  in  the  history  of 
California,  which  has  never  been  given  by  one  of  their 
number,  although  published  and  republished,  iterated  and 
reiterated  indefinitely  by  their  opponents.  There  is  no  bet- 
ter way  to  exhibit  human  nature  unrestrained  by  law,  and 
the  mingling  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  civilizations,  than 
by  giving  a  brief  narrative  of  that  conflict. 

On  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  in  1 848,  the  whole 
country  was  in  a  blaze  of  excitement,  and  men  of  all  classes 
and  conditions  had  symptoms  of  the  gold  fever,  more  or  less 
well  marked.  Even  staid  New  England  did  not  escape  the 
epidemic.  In  the  winter  of  1849  a  party  of  some  forty  per- 
sons was  organized  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  for  the  purpose 


28  THE     KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

of  emigration  to  the  land  of  gold.  This  party  was  com- 
posed of  men  of  all  classes  and  professions,  including  trades- 
men, clerks,  manufacturers,  mechanics,  farmers,  and  laborers. 
Jt  was  organized  in  the  form  of  a  military  company,  with 
a  full  list  of  officers  from  captain  down.  The  privates  and 
non-commissioned  officers  wore  gray  uniforms,  while  the 
commissioned  officers  wore  navy-blue.  An  assessment  was 
made  upon  each  member,  and  all  property  was  purchased 
and  controlled  by  the  officers.  Among  the  number  was  a 
physician,  by  the  name  of  Robinson,  who  was  to  be  exempt 
from  all  duty  except  the  care  of  the  sick.  The  doctor,  de- 
siring rest  from  an  extensive  practice,  was  in  pursuit  of  rec- 
reation quite  as  much  as  of  gold.  He  had  been  interested 
in  the  peace  and  anti-slavery  discussions  of  that  day,  and 
was  in  theory  a  non-resistant  and  abolitionist.  The  party 
left  Boston  in  the  winter  of  1849,  travelling  by  railroad  and 
canal  to  Pittsburg,  and  thence  by  steamboat  to  Kansas  City, 
or  Westport  Landing.  The  name  of  the  boat  was  A?  Plus 
Ultra,  and  it  was  engaged  for  the  whole  river  journey.  It 
stopped  long  enough  at  Cincinnati  for  the  doctor  to  pur- 
chase a  beautiful  cream-colored  horse  and  a  clarionet,  and 
at  St.  Louis  for  the  purchase  of  supplies  and  to  receive  pas- 
sengers, chiefly  gold-seekers.  Some  members  of  the  party 
had  seen  much  of  the  world,  while  many  were  unsophisti- 
cated and  unsuspicious.  These  latter,  when  they  paid  their 
assessments,  paid  tuition  in  a  school  of  more  varied  knowl- 
edge and  experience  than  can  be  found  in  any  professed 
place  of  education.  There  was  a  new  lesson  for  each  day. 
and  every  lesson  must  be  learned  by  heart.  Drones  and 
truants  were  impossible,  and  at  the  end  of  the  journey,  on 
the  western  coast,  every  member  was  a  graduate,  and  had 
witnessed  or  experienced  more  arts,  devices,  shifts  and  turns, 
deeds  of  daring,  honor,  integrity,  perfidy,  rascality,  and  devil- 
try than  all  the  educational  institutions  of  the  land  could 
have  shown.  On  leaving  St.  Louis  the  boat  was  well  filled 
with  passengers  and  their  "  plunder."  The  Boston  party  were 


OX    MISSOURI     KIVKK. CHOKKKA.  29 

now  in  a  decided  minority  of  the  passengers,  and  relatively- 
lost  their  importance,  although  still  distinguished  from  other 
passengers  by  their  uniform.  It  being  generally  known  that 
the  Boston  party  had  a  physician  with  them,  his  services 
were  sought  on  all  occasions  of  sickness  and  among  all 
classes  of  passengers.  The  boat  had  not  proceeded  far  on 
its  journey  up  the  muddy  Missouri  River  when  the  cholera 
made  its  appearance  on  board.  Here  was  a  new  experience 
for  the  doctor.  While  he  had  read  much  of  the  disease,  its 
cause,  symptoms,  and  treatment,  he  had  never  met  with  a 
case  in  his  practice.  Without  a  medical  library,  and  with 
but  a  limited  variety  and  supply  of  medicines,  he  was  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources,  and  accordingly  made  an  object  les- 
son of  the  first  case.  It  was  found  that  all  the  fluids  of  the 
body  were  leaving  the  surface  and  pouring  into  the  alimen- 
tary canal.  The  features  became  pinched  and  anxious,  the 
skin  pallid  and  bloodless,  and  the  muscles  of  the  extremities 
were  affected  with  painful  cramps.  What  was  to  be  done  ? 
Evidently  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  reverse  the  vas- 
cular and  absorbent  machinery,  and  send  the  fluids  back  to 
the  surface  and  other  parts  of  the  system,  and  relieve  cramps. 
What  would  accomplish  this  result,  and  did  the  .medicine- 
chest  contain  the  required  remedy  ?  On  examination,  the 
doctor  found  tincture  of  opium  (laudanum),  tincture  of  cam- 
phor, and  compound  tincture  of  capsicum  (hot  drops).  The 
first  two  would  have  a  tendency  to  send  the  fluids  to  the 
brain  and  surface  and  relieve  spasms,  while  the  last  would 
excite  action  of  the  vascular  and  absorbent  systems.  Ac- 
cordingly, these  tinctures  were  taken  in  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts,  and  administered  in  teaspoonful  doses  once  in  fifteen 
minutes,  more  or  less,  according  to  symptoms,  till  the  flow 
of  fluids  should  be  reversed  and  the  cramps  cease.  Fortu- 
nately, this  treatment  proved  successful  in  every  case  where 
applied  on  first  attack  of  the  disease. 

Another  object   lesson  was  given  on   this  boat  which  has 
not  been  forgotten.     As  the  steamer  was  about  to  leave  St. 


30  THi;     KANSAS    IONH.ICT. 

Louis,  four  men  came  on  board  in  a  somewhat  free-and-easy 
manner,  occasioned  by  a  free  indulgence  in  the  fashionable 
beverage  of  the  city.  One  of  these  men  proved  to  be  a  man 
from  Illinois,  on  his  way  to  California,  and  the  other  three 
were  residents  of  St.  Louis,  and  evidently  blacklegs.  The 
man  from  Illinois  was  said  to  have  $i  500,  which  he  deposited 
with  the  clerk  of  the  boat.  As  soon  as  the  boat  was  weli 
under  way,  these  four  men  engaged  in  card-playing,  which 
was  diligently  prosecuted  early  and  late.  Large  sums  of 
money  were  bet  and  nearly  always  won  by  one  of  the  three- 
men  from  St.  Louis,  at  the  expense  of  the  Illinoisan.  The 
unsophisticated  members  of  the  Boston  party  had  read  of 
gambling  and  desperate  characters  in  the  South  and  West, 
particularly  on  board  of  river  steamers,  and  some  of  them 
became  close  observers  of  the  game,  especially  the  doctor, 
whose  state-room  was  near  the  gamblers'  table.  It  was  ob- 
served that  drinks  were  often  ordered,  and  that  the  Illinois 
man  was  kept  in  a  jolly  frame  of  mind,  while  the  St.  Louis 
men  were  cool  and  sober.  On  the  evening  of  the  first  or 
sec  find  day  the  playing  became  more  earnest  and  the  drink- 
ing more  frequent,  till  the  Illinois  man  became  desperate, 
and  all  left  the  table  and  went  to  the  bar.  where  another  drink 
was  called  for,  but  declined  at  first  by  the  victim.  But  after 
being  bantered  and  coaxed,  he  emptied  his  glass,  as  did  the 
others.  At  this  stage  the  doctor  retired  to  his  state-room,  but 
not  to  sleep,  for  while  conning  this  lesson  in  all  its  bearings, 
he  was  called  to  prescribe  for  this  man,  who  had  been  drugged 
and  was  desperately  ill.  Spasms  and  convulsions  set  in. 
accompanied  with  groans  and  yells,  till  it  became  necessary 
to  remove  him  to  the  pilot-house  that  the  passengers  might 
not  be  disturbed.  Before  many  hours  had  passed  the  poor 
man  died  in  terrible  agony.  The  boat  soon  after  went  ashore 
and  his  body  was  left.  An  inventory  was  had  of  his  effects. 
and  no  money  except  a  small  bill  in  his  vest-pocket  was 
found.  A  boat  going  down  the  river  was  hailed,  and  the 
three  gamblers  went  aboard ;  and  thus  ended  this  object 


JEALOUSIES    OF    OFFICERS.  31 

lesson,  which  was  an  eye-opener  to  the  Doctor,  and  played 
havoc  with  his  non-resistant  theories.  The  Wyandotte  Indian 
agent  was  on  the  boat,  who  was  also  a  doctor,  and  well 
understood  the  case.  When  the  Yankee  Doctor  proposed  to 
have  complaint  made  and  these  men  punished,  the  Indian 
agent  told  him  he  was  wild.  He  must  remember  that  there 
was  virtually  no  law  that  could  or  would  reach  the  case; 
besides,  if  these  men  even  had  a  suspicion  that  such  a  move 
was  contemplated,  the  Doctor  would  be  put  where  he  could 
not  be  summoned  as  a  witness.  Also,  should  complaint  be 
made,  he  would  be  retained  as  a  witness,  and  would  have  to 
postpone  his  trip  to  California  till  after  the  trial,  which  might 
be  delayed  for  a  year.  After  fully  digesting  the  case,  with 
all  its  surroundings,  it  was  concluded  that  one  man  could 
not  remedy  all  the  evils  in  the  world  at  once. 

At  length  the  Ne  Plus  Ultra  reached  its  destination,  West- 
port  Landing,  or  Kansas  City,  in  the  latter  part  of  March  or 
first  of  April.  Here  was  a  new  experience.  Like  all  joint- 
stock  companies,  made  up  of  all  classes  and  characters  of  in- 
'dependent,  intelligent  Yankees,  no  sooner  was  the  journey 
commenced  than  the  officers  in  control  were  subjects  of  suspi- 
cion, jealousies,  innuendoes,  reflections,  and  open  charges  of 
incapacity,  inefficiency,  crookedness,  theft,  and  robbery.  The 
farther  removed  from  home  and  home  influences,  the  louder 
the  complaints,  until  on  landing  at  Kansas  City  a  general  mu- 
tiny prevailed.  No  settlement  of  difficulties  could  be  reached 
without  a  division  of  the  party  and  a  consequent  division  of 
the  tons  of  supplies.  Accordingly,  two  parties  were  organ- 
ized, and  a  committee  of  three,  of  which  the  Doctor  was  one, 
was  appointed  to  divide  the  "plunder."  This  quarrel  and 
division,  with  the  purchase  of  teams,  consumed  some  four 
or  five  weeks  of  time,  or  till  the  first  week  in  May.  This 
delay  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  to  study  the  pecul- 
iarities of  the  people,  their  habits  and  institutions.  The 
doctor,  with  some  other  members  of  the  party,  procured 
board  with  a  thrifty  farmer  several  miles  on  the  road  to  In- 


32  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

dependence,  and  there  took  lessons  in  Western  farming  and 
stock-raising.  His  time  was  fully  occupied,  for  not  only  was 
a  division  of  the  supplies  to  be  made  between  the  two  par- 
ties, and  teams  to  be  purchased,  but  calls  for  his  professional 
services  were  frequent.  During  the  first  night  after  the  party 
landed  at  Kansas  City,  nine  of  the  citizens  were  attacked 
with  cholera  and  died.  The  little  hamlet  was  panic-stricken. 
Several  physicians  were  in  the  place,  but  all  had  failed  to 
save  their  patients.  It  became  known  in  the  morning  that 
the  Doctor  of  the  Boston  party  had  been  successful  in  several 
cases  on  the  boat  while  coming  up  the  river,  and  his  sen-ices 
were  at  once  in  demand.  This  demand  did  not  cease  till  he 
started  on  his  trip  across  the  plains.  The  last  case  treated 
was  that  of  a  young  physician  who  was  a  victim  to  the  dis- 
ease. The  Doctor  remained  with  him  the  entire  night,  until 
favorable  symptoms  appeared,  when  he  joined  the  party- 
ready  to  begin  their  long  journey.  Whether  this  physician 
died  or  recovered,  the  Doctor  never  learned  till  in  the  heat 
of  the  Kansas  conflict,  in  1856.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  this  stay  of  some  four  or  five  weeks  at  Kansas  City,  in' 
the  spring  of  1849,  had  an  important  influence  on  the  strug- 
gle of  1854,  1855,  and  1856,  in  Kansas  Territory.  The 
Yankees  were  thus  enabled  to  learn  some  of  the  peculiarities 
of  the  border  men,  and  they  in  turn  of  the  Yankees.  Kach 
class  bestowed  and  received  favors,  and  parted  with  mutual 
good-will  when  the  time  came  for  the  Yankees  to  pursue 
their  journey.  This  good-will  in  some  instances  was  unin- 
terrupted, as  will  later  appear,  during  all  the  border  troubles 
in  Kansas. 

On  the  loth  of  May,  the  two  parties  had  completed  their 
organizations,  apportioned  the  property,  procured  their 
teams,  and  were  ready  to  launch  their  "prairie  schooners." 
One  party  had  procured  mules  and  the  other  oxen  for  motive 
power.  Both  mules  and  oxen  were  unbroken  to  the  harness 
or  yoke,  with  a  few  exceptions,  as  were  most  of  the  men  in 
the  parties  unused  to  handling  them.  The  experiences  in 


SUNDAY   TRAVELLING.  33 

hitching  up,  starting  and  driving  these  wild  animals  afforded 
much  amusement  as  well  as  many  hard  knocks,  mingled  with 
the  Western  vernacular,  which  was  learned  and  adopted  by 
the  drivers  with  remarkable  alacrity.  As  the  steers  had  had 
no  Yankee  schooling,  and  had  not  learned  the  definitions  of 
the  terms  whoa,  haw,  and  gee,  the  members  of  the  party 
marched  in  irregular  order  on  both  sides  of  the  teams,  thus 
guiding  them  in  the  way  they  should  go.  At  the  short  turns 
in  the  road,  and  the  crossing  of  creeks  and  ravines,  there 
was  usually  a  revolt  that  sometimes  lasted  half  a  day.  At 
night  the  steers  would  be  unhitched  from  the  wagons,  but 
not  unyoked,  as  to  unyoke  and  yoke  these  teams  on  the  open 
prairie  at  first  would  require  twenty  out  of  the  twenty-four 
hours,  leaving  but  four  hours  in  which  to  eat  and  sleep,  and 
no  time  for  travel.  On  the  first  Saturday  of  the  journey, 
darkness  came  on  before  reaching  water,  and  the  party 
camped  on  the  high  prairie.  The  next  morning,  on  investi- 
gation, it  was  found  that  the  Wakarusa  Creek  was  some  two 
or  three  miles  away,  and  the  teams  must  be  hitched  up  and 
driven  that  distance,  at  least,  although  it  was  Sunday.  So 
much  was  a  work  of  necessity,  and  the  strictest  Puritan  in 
the  party  acquiesced.  But,  after  reaching  the  creek  and 
watering  the  stock,  the  question  arose,  shall  the  party  go  fur- 
ther. Here  was  the  first  clash  of  Yankee  theological  steel. 
The  discussion  was,  however,  brief,  and  a  vote  of  the  party 
settled  the  question  in  favor  of  further  travel.  But  the  triumph 
of  the  Sunday  travellers  was  brief,  as  in  going  through  a  de- 
pression, near  the  place  where  the  town  of  Franklin  was  after- 
wards located,  the  chain  between  the  cattle  became  slackened 
and  twisted  about  a  steer's  leg.  When  the  chain  was  straight- 
ened, it  gave  such  a  twist  to  the  leg  as  to  disable  it.  Here 
was  a  judgment  of  God  for  breaking  the  Sabbath.  No  fur- 
ther progress  could  be  made  that  day,  except  in  theological 
discussion.  One  party  claimed  that  it  was  a  direct  interpo- 
sition to  punish  Sabbath-breaking,  while  the  other  put  the 
accident  to  the  account  of  too  long  coupling-chains  and  bad 


34  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

driving.  One  party  appealed  to  the  Decalogue,  and  the 
other  called  for  its  reading.  When  it  was  found  that  the 
seventh  day,  instead  of  the  first,  was  enjoined  to  be  observed, 
and  that  for  a  special  reason  which  applied  only  to  the  Jews, 
an  appeal  was  made  to  the  New  Testament,  where  it  was 
claimed  the  command  was  made  applicable  to  the  first  day 
of  the  week.  The  discussion  was  closed,  on  one  side,  by 
offering  a  dollar  for  every  word  in  the  New  Testament  en- 
joining the  observance  of  any  day  as  a  Sabbath,  and,  on  the 
other,  by  devoting  the  remainder  of  the  day  in  searching  the 
Testament.  No  claim  was  ever  made  for  the  prize  money, 
and  these  sticklers  for  Sabbath  observance  were  afterwards 
seen  betting  at  monte  in  Sacramento,  having  evidently  lost 
their  Puritanic  scruples.  Persons  who  depend  upon  outside 
pressure  for  religion  are  apt  to  adopt  the  customs  of  their 
surroundings  when  that  pressure  is  removed ;  while  the  per- 
son who  is  governed  by  his  own  convictions  of  what  is  right 
and  what  is  wrong,  regardless  of  public  opinion  and  public 
custom,  will  be  but  slightly  influenced  by  externals. 

As  the  Boston  party  travelled  by  river  from  Pittsburg  to 
Kansas  City,  they  saw  nothing  of  prairie  land  till  starting  out 
across  Kansas  Territory.  The  second  day,  the  i  ith  of  May, 
was  a  revelation.  No  such  landscape  had  ever  blessed  their 
vision.  One  of  the  party  described  the  country  and  his  sen- 
sations in  his  diary,  as  follows : 

"May  nth,  1849. — Our  course  to-day  has  been  over  the  rolling 
prairie,  and  we  passed  along  without  difficulty.  The  prairie  seems  to 
be  an  endless  succession  of  rolls,  with  a  smooth,  green  surface,  dotted 
all  over  with  most  beautiful  flowers.  The  soil  is  of  the  most  rich  and 
fertile  character,  with  no  waste  land.  The  feelings  that  come  over  a 
person,  as  he  first  views  this  immense  ocean  of  land,  are  indescribable. 
As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  he  sees  nothing  but  a  beautiful  green  car- 
pet, save  here  and  there  perhaps  a  cluster  of  trees  ;  he  hears  nothing  but 
the  feathered  songsters  of  the  air,  and  ffeh  nothing  but  a  solemn  awe 
in  view  of  this  infinite  display  of  creative  power. 

"  I3th. — Turned  out  this  morning  at  four  o'clock,  to  watch  the  cattle. 
Went  up  on  a  high  roll  of  land,  where  I  had  an  extensive  and  enchant- 
ing view  of  this  seemingly  boundless  and  ever-varying  prairie.  The 


INSUBORDINATION    OF    EMIGRANTS.  35 

sun  is  rising  out  of  this  sea  of  land  in  the  east,  a  line  of  timber  skirts 
Cedar  Creek  to  the  N.E.,  also  Spoon  Creek  to  the  N.W.,  while  still 
further  on,  in  the  same  direction,  is  seen  a  thick  fog,  marking  the 
course  of  the  Kansas  River.  All  is  still  save  the  grazing  of  the  cattle, 
and  the  concert  of  birds,  which  is  composed  of  a  great  variety  of  song- 
sters. The  cooing  of  the  prairie  hens,  heard  in  every  direction,  con- 
stitutes the  bass ;  the  loud  cawing  of  the  crows,  the  tenor ;  the  fine, 
sweet  voices  of  the  ground  and  small  birds,  the  treble ;  and  a  noise  as 
of  distant  wild  geese,  the  alto. 

"  23d. — Passed  a  little  creek  of  pure  cold  water,  about  twelve  M., 
where  we  found  a  newly  made  grave.  Ascended  a  high  bluff  near  the 
creek,  where  I  had  a  most  delightful  view  of  the  country  to  a  great 
distance.  I  was  reminded  of  the  view  of  the  Connecticut  River  valley 
from  Mt.  Holyoke.  There  is  this  difference,  however — while  one  is 
circumscribed  by  hills  and  forests,  the  other  is  illimitable  in  extent,  and 
stretches  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  sun ;  and  while  one  is  striped 
and  checked  with  corn-fields  and  meadows  like  a  carpet,  the  other  is 
capable  of  being  checked  as  numerously  with  States  and  nations." 

The  Boston  party  that  left  Kansas  City  in  two  divisions, 
before  reaching  California  found  itself  in  numerous  subdivis- 
ions. In  all  his  learning  the  Yankee  had  never  learned  the 
lesson  of  subordination.  So  long  as  dynamite  cartridges  will 
explode  under  favoring  circumstances,  so  long  will  explo- 
sions occur  in  Yankee  parties  on  a  joint-stock  basis  while 
traversing  a  wilderness  in  pursuit  of  gold.  The  Israelites 
were  not  Yankees,  and  they  had  been  long  disciplined  by 
the  Egyptian  task-master,  but  nevertheless  they  made  the  life 
of  Moses  a  burden  to  him  on  their  journey  to  the  promised 
land.  In  consequence  of  these  explosions  of  the  Yankee 
party,  but  a  few  hundred  miles  had  been  travelled  when  the 
Doctor  found  himself  one  of  a  party  of  three  persons,  includ- 
ing himself,  and  all  on  horseback,  with  pack  animals  for  their 
supplies.  It  seemed  necessary  that  there  should  be  at  least 
two  persons  in  every  party,  or  this  party  of  three  would  have 
been  divided  again.  This  journey  was  most  favorable  for 
developing  traits,  not  only  of  human  nature,  but  also  of 
equine  nature.  The  Doctor's  horse,  purchased  at  Cincinnati, 
proved  to  be  as  docile  and  affectionate  as  he  was  beautiful. 


36  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Whenever  the  Doctor  appeared  he  would  leave  his  grazing 
and  place  his  head  over  the  shoulder  of  his  owner  in  an  affec- 
tionate and  caressing  manner.  Wherever  the  party  camped, 
that  was  his  home,  and  there  was  no  danger  of  his  taking 
voluntary  leave.  One  incident  that  occurred,  among  many, 
will  be  given  in  honor  of  the  race  to  which  this  horse,  Charley 
by  name,  belonged.  On  reaching  the  north  fork  of  the 
Platte  River,  it  was  found  to  be  swollen  and  the  current 
swift.  Some  place  must  be  found,  if  possible,  where  it  could 
be  forded,  as  the  pack  animals  could  not  well  keep  afloat 
with  their  luggage.  Charley,  as  usual  on  such  occasions, 
was  in  requisition  for  experiments.  Several  places  were 
tried,  but  no  fording  discovered.  At  one  place,  when  deep 
water  was  reached,  in  the  struggle  rider  and  horse  became 
separated.  The  horse  crossed  the  river,  but  on  seeing  the 
man  struggling  in  the  swift  current,  he  neighed  anxiously, 
and  plunged  into  the  stream  again,  reaching  an  island  in  the 
river  at  the  same  time  with  his  owner,  who  was  completely 
exhausted.  The  horse  came  and  stood  over  him  till  he  was 
sufficiently  rested  to  ride  to  the  main-land.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  say  that  the  owner's  attachment  to  his  horse  was  stronger 
than  that  he  had  for  his  human  companions,  for  the  horse 
showed  an  affection  which  they  did  not,  and  when,  at  the 
squatter  riot  in  Sacramento,  Charley  was  killed  in  the  fight, 
his  death  caused  his  owner  a  pang  of  regret  greater  than  did 
the  bullet  that  passed  through  his  own  body. 

The  incidents  of  this  overland  journey  are  not,  for  the 
most  part,  germane  to  the  main  subject  of  this  book  ;  but  the 
Land  or  Squatter  Riots  of  Sacramento  are  worth  describing 
here,  both  because  the  truth  about  them  has  never  been 
publicly  told,  and  because  this  conflict  in  California  was  a 
prototype  of  the  later  conflict  in  Kansas,  having  many  points 
of  resemblance,  and  having  been  prosecuted  by  similar,  and 
some  of  the  same,  characters. 

After  a  journey  of  some  three  months,  fragments  of  the 
Boston  party  .began  to  arrive  in  California,  and  a  small 


IN    CALIFORNIA.  37 

detachment,  including  Dr.  Robinson,  stopped  on  Bear  Creek 
for  the  purpose  of  washing  out  the  precious  metal.  Af- 
ter some  two  weeks,  Sacramento  City  was  visited  for  sup- 
plies. Here,  at  the  junction  of  the  Sacramento  and  American 
rivers,  seemed  to  be  the  head  of  navigation  for  shipping  of 
all  kinds,  and  a  prosperous  town  was  destined  to  grow  up. 
Meals,  consisting  of  meat  and  bread,  were  selling  at  from 
seventy-five  cents  to  one  dollar  and  a  half  each,  and  lodg- 
ings in  proportion.  It  was  apparent  that  more  gold  could 
be  procured  at  Sacramento  at  such  prices  than  on  Bear 
Creek,  and  a  partnership  was  soon  formed  and  an  eating- 
house  opened.  As  mining  at  this  time  was  confined  to  the 
bars  in  the  creeks  and  rivers,  as  soon  as  the  rainy  season  set 
in  these  bars  were  covered  with  water,  and  the  miners  sought 
the  towns  for  winter  quarters.  During  this  season,  in  1849, 
in  the  absence  of  vegetables  and  variety  of  food,  many  emi- 
grants were  on  the  sick  list,  and  had  to  be  cared  for  by 
the  more  fortunate  or  suffer  and  die  alone  in  their  tents  or 
cabins.  These  tents,  shanties,  and  cabins,  were  scattered 
over  the  unoccupied  lands  in  and  around  Sacramento,  and 
the  proprietors  of  the  Boston  party  eating-house  furnished 
both  food  and  medicine  to  many  of  these  unfortunates.  In 
the  midst  of  this  rainy  season  three  men,  including  the 
Doctor,  were  passing  along  the  levee  between  the  Slough 
near  I  street  arid  the  river,  when  they  met  a  pretended 
sheriff  and  posse  well  charged  with  whiskey.  Curiosity 
caused  the  three  men  to  stop  and  watch  proceedings.  The 
posse  went  directly  to  a  structure  of  logs  and  canvas,  where 
was  a  sick  man  who  had  been  fed  and  nursed  by  the  Doctor 
for  several  days.  This  man  was  ruthlessly  hauled  from  his 
shelter,  and  the  logs  and  canvas  leveled  with  the  ground. 
One  of  the  three  watchers  exclaimed,  "  That  is  a  damned 
outrage,"  and  the  others  joined  in  the  exclamation.  It  was 
then  and  there  the  movement  commenced  that  culminated 
in  the  squatter  riot  of  the  next  year.  These  three  men, 
entire  strangers  to  each  other,  resolved  that  such  proceed- 


38  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ing  should  be  reported  to  the  people.  Accordingly,  it  was 
decided  to  advertise  a  meeting  to  be  held  on  the  levee 
in  front  of  a  ship's  galley  lying  near  I  street.  A  cord 
of  wood  was  procured  to  furnish  light,  and  "  dodgers " 
about  six  inches  square  were  printed  and  posted  all  over  the 
place,  on  wagons,  mules,  and  things  movable  and  immova- 
ble. It  was  decided  that  the  oldest  of  the  three  men  should 
preside  at  the  meeting,  and  that  the  Doctor  should  prepare 
and  present  resolutions.  The  time  for  the  meeting  came, 
and  with  it  apparently  the  entire  population  of  the  city. 
The  cord  of  wood  was  set  on  fire  and  the  older  man 
mounted  the  galley  as  president  of  the  meeting.  He  was 
small  in  stature  and  small  in  voice,  and  seemed  incapable  of 
preserving  order.  The  speculators  and  their  friends  monopo- 
lized the  speech-making  till  the  Doctor,  who  was  unaccus- 
tomed to  public  speaking,  found  that  modesty  must  be 
ignored  or  the  squatters'  cause  would  be  lost.  After  sev- 
eral speculators  had  spoken  he  made  his  way  to  the  stand, 
and  prefaced  his  resolution  with  an  account  of  the  situation 
and  a  statement  of  what  he  had  witnessed.  He  then  read 
the  following  preamble  and  resolution  : 

"  Whereas,  the  land  in  California  is  presumed  to  be  public  land, 
therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  we  will  protect  any  settler  in  the  possession  of  land 
to  the  extent  of  one  lot  in  the  city,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in 
the  country,  till  a  valid  title  shall  be  shown  for  it." 

This  resolution  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm.  The 
crowd,  which  had  listened  to  the  speculators'  harangues  in 
silence,  now  went  wild  with  excitement.  No  one  could 
doubt  the  direction  of  the  wind  now,  and  men  in  abundance 
were  found  ready  to  endorse  the  resolution.  This  was  the 
first  move,  and  this  the  platform  that  remained  the  platform 
throughout  the  conflict.  Before  adjourning,  steps  were 
taken  for  a  permanent  organization,  of  which  the  Doctor 
was  chosen  president.  Was  there  occasion  or  excuse  for 


MEXICAN    GRANTS.  39 

this  movement  f  California  had  been  acquired  from  Mexico 
by  treaty,  which  respected  all  previous  acts  of  the  Mexican 
government  relative  to  the  occupying  and  ownership  of  the 
land.  Under  Mexican  rule,  governors  of  provinces,  mayors 
of  cities,  and  justices  of  the  peace  were  authorized  to  issue 
grants  of  land  subject  to  approval  by  the  general  govern- 
ment. In  this  way  numerous  grants  had  been  made  by  the 
Governor  of  California,  and  one  of  eleven  leagues  to  Cap- 
tain Sutler.  These  grants  were  often  loosely  defined,  and 
the  boundaries  could  be  made  to  cover  many  times  the 
amount  called  for  in  the  grant.  At  this  time,  when  the 
squatters  were  organized,  no  grant  to  Captain  Sutter  had 
been  seen  by  any  one,  and  the  boundaries  were  unknown, 
but  title  was  claimed  under  it  from  the  Three  Peaks,  some 
seventy  miles  north  of  Sacramento,  to  some  unknown  dis- 
tance south  of  the  town.  It  also  extended  from  the  "  rivers 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  so  far  as  known,  east  and  west. 
No  man  could  settle  upon  any  part  of  this  vast  tract  without 
being  assailed  by  some  pretended  claimant  under  Sutter. 
Captain  Sutter  was  a  genial,  generous  old  gentleman  from 
Sweden,  and,  on  account  of  his  early  settlement,  was  an  im- 
portant character,  socially  and  otherwise.  He  was  made 
much  of,  and  of  course  must  be  treated  to  some  drink  by 
each  new  visitor.  As  it  would  be  uncivil  to  decline  one 
unless  all  were  declined,  and  as  he  was  not  a  teetotaler,  he 
must  drink  with  everybody.  As  he  was  unequal  to  the  task 
of  drinking  everybody  drunk  in  detail,  everybody  was  sure 
to  drink  him  drunk  on  every  visit  to  the  city.  When  in  this 
condition  he  was  very  generous,  and  would  sign  almost  any 
paper  presented  to  him.  In  this  way  deeds  were  obtained 
at  will  by  the  unscrupulous  speculators  till  the  whole  north- 
ern part  of  the  State  seemingly  had  been  covered.  Josiah 
Royce,  in  the  Overland  Monthly  for  September,  1885,  on 
page  227,  says: 

"  In  1848,  when  the  gold-seekers  began  to  come,  Sutter  began  to 
lose  his  wits.    One  of  the  pioneer  statements  in  Mr.  Bancroft's  collection 


40  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

says  rather  severely  that  the  distinguished  Captain  thenceforth  signed 
'  any  paper  that  was  brought  to  him.'  At  all  events,  he  behaved  in  as 
unbusiness-like  a  fashion  as  could  well  be  expected,  and  the  result  was 
that  when  his  affairs  came  in  later  years  to  more  complete  settlement, 
it  was  found  that  he  had  deeded  away,  not  merely  more  land  than  he 
actually  owned,  but,  if  I  mistake  not,  more  land  than  even  he  himself 
had  supposed  himself  to  own.  All  this  led  not  only  himself  into  embar- 
rassments, but  other  people  with  him ;  and  to  arrange  with  justice  the 
final  survey  of  his  Alvarado  grant  proved  in  later  years  one  of  the  most 
perplexing  problems  of  the  United  States  District  and  Supreme  Courts." 

At  this  time  California  was  not  admitted  into  the  Union, 
and  there  was  no  law  except  the  old  Mexican  code  that  was 
recognized  by  the  United  States.  The  Mexican  local  law 
was  ignored,  as  no  officers  existed  to  enforce  it.  A  consti- 
tution had  been  adopted  and  so-called  laws  made  under  it, 
and  it  was  such  laws  as  these  that  were  resorted  to  by  the 
speculators  to  eject  settlers  from  all  northern  California, 
claimed  to  be  covered  by  Sutler's  grant.  At  first  no  pre- 
tense of  legal  process  was  deemed  necessary.  The  poor 
settler,  who  had  erected  his  shanty  or  tent  on  some  unoccu- 
pied land,  would  be  visited  by  some  person  who  would  de- 
mand possession,  purchase-money,  or  blackmail.  Many 
who  wanted  no  trouble  would  leave  without  further  notice. 
But  such  as  failed  to  heed  the  warning  would  soon  be  visited 
by  the  pretended  sheriff  and  posse.  He  would  make  quick 
work  and  oust  the  intruder.  The  squatters'  organization, 
when  completed,  played  havoc  with  such  ejectments.  Either 
the  president  or  some  member  of  that  association  would 
happen  at  the  place  of  ejectment  and  seriously  interfere  with 
the  programme.  The  speculators,  finding  this  game  blocked, 
concluded  to  send  for  the  Sutter  title,  in  accordance  with 
the  demand  of  the  squatters'  platform.  A  certified  copy 
was  procured  from  the  archives  of  Mexico  and  read  to  a 
large  meeting  called  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  it.  But, 
unfortunately  for  the  speculators,  the  boundaries  of  this  pre- 
tended grant  were  fatally  defective.  The  third  and  fourth 
sections  of  this  grant  read  as  follows : 


LUTHER'S    GRANT.  41 

' '  3d.  The  land  of  which  donation  is  made  to  him  is  of  the  extent  of 
eleven  sitios  da  gauado  major,  as  exhibited  in  the  sketch  annexed  to  the 
proceedings,  without  including  the  lands  overflowed  by  the  swelling  and 
current  of  the  rivers.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  los  Tres  Picas 
(three  summits)  and  the  39°  41'  45"  of  north  latitude ;  on  the  east  by  the 
borders  of  the  J\io  de  las  Plumas  (Feather  River) ;  on  the  south  by  the 
parallel  38°  49'  32''  of  north  latitude ;  and  on  the  west  by  the  river 
Sacramento. 

"  4th.  When  this  property  shall  be  confirmed  unto  him,  he  shall 
petition  the  proper  judge  to  give  him  possession  of  the  land,  in  order 
that  it  may  be  measured,  agreeably  to  ordinance,  the  surplus  thereof 
remaining  for  the  benefit  of  the  nation,  for  convenient  purposes. 
Therefore  I  order  that  this  title  being  held  as  firm  and  valid,  that  the 
same  be  entered  in  the  proper  book,  and  that  these  proceedings  be 
transmitted  to  the  excellent  Departmental  Assembly." 

Here  are  natural  boundaries  which  would  seem  conclusive. 
On  the  north  by  the  Three  Peaks,  about  sixty  or  seventy 
miles  north  of  Sacramento,  on  the  east  by  the  Feather  River, 
on  the  west  by  the  Sacramento  River,  and  on  the  south  by  a 
parallel  of  latitude  near  the  junction  of  those  rivers,  about 
twenty  miles  north  of  Sacramento.  Besides,  it  expressly 
excludes  land  overflowed  by  the  rivers,  and  Sacramento  was 
under  from  two  to  six  feet  of  water  for  four  or  six  weeks. 
This  document,  of  course,  confirmed  the  squatters  in  their 
determination  to  stand  by  each  other.  But  the  fight  was  not 
abandoned  by  the  speculators.  Although  they  had  no  law  or 
equity  on  their  side,  they  proposed  to  rely  upon  a  pretense  of 
law,  or  the  legal  machine.  They  evidently  supposed  that 
squatters  would  know  no  difference  between  pretense  and 
reality,  and  proceeded  accordingly.  As  a  posse  with  nothing 
behind  it  would  work  no  longer,  something  else  must  be  tried. 
The  first  agency  appealed  to  was  the  City  Council,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1849.  An  ordinance  was  passed  directing  certain  im- 
provements to  be  removed  from  city  lots  occupied  by  squat- 
ters, says  the  Sacramento  Directory  of  1853,  and  a  posse  of 
several  hundred  men  under  the  city  marshal  started  out  on 
their  mission.  The  president  of  the  squatters'  association, 
however,  met  them  at  their  first  job,  and  informed  them  that 


42  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

their  authority  to  meddle  with  private  property  was  not 
recognized  by  his  association,  and  if  they  touched  that 
property  they  must  kill  at  least  one  person  then  and  have  a 
reckoning  with  the  whole  squatters'  association  afterwards. 
This  was  more  than  had  been  expected,  and,  although  the 
little  deputy  marshal,  who  was  charged  to  the  muzzle  with 
whiskey,  cried  "  Shoot  the  scoundrel,"  no  shooting  was  done, 
and  the  marshal  with  his  posse  retired  to  report  to  head- 
quarters. Finding  that  this  form  of  law  wouldn't  frighten 
squatters  and  blood  must  be  shed,  some  more  impressive 
form  must  be  invented.  This  was  easily  done.  The  State 
Legislature,  so  called,  although  no  recognition  of  the  State 
had  been  made  by  Congress,  passed  an  act  concerning  forci- 
ble entry  and  detainer,  with  the  express  purpose  of  meeting 
the  difficulty  of  settling  possession  without  passing  upon  title 
in  a  United  States  court.  As  the  justice  could  have  no 
jurisdiction  where  the  question  of  title  was  raised,  the  squat- 
ters repudiated  this  form  of  law,  as  in  every  case  the  squatter 
was  in  peaceable  possession,  and  no  right  to  possession  in 
the  claimant  could  be  shown  except  by  offsetting  actual  pos- 
session with  title.  This  was  accordingly  done,  notwithstand- 
ing the  protests  of  the  settlers.  Sutler's  title  was  pleaded  in 
every  case,  decided  valid,  and  judgment  rendered  against 
the  squatter.  He  could  appeal  to  the  Probate  Court  by 
giving  bonds  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  judgment.  Also  the 
bondsmen  must  be  land-holders.  No  others  would  betaken. 
In  the  spring  the  president  was  absent  several  weeks  in  the 
mines,  seeking  a  proper  site  for  a  sawmill,  shipped  around 
the  Horn  by  his  brother.  During  his  absence  the  specula- 
tors were  very  busy  with  suits,  ordinances,  and  organiza- 
tions. Mr.  Royce,  on  page  238  of  the  Overland  Monthly, 
describes  the  situation  as  follows : 

"  To  this  act  [Forcible  Entry  and  Detainer]  some  of  the  land-owners 
of  Sacramento  now  appealed  for  help.  Moreover,  as  they  were  in 
control  of  the  city  council,  they  proceeded  to  pass,  amid  the  furious 
protests  of  the  squatters,  a  municipal  ordinance,  forbidding  any  one  to 


VEXATIOUS    SUITS.  43 

erect  tents,  or  shanties,  or  houses,  or  to  heap  lumber  or  other  encum- 
brances, upon  any  vacant  lot  belonging  to  a  private  person,  or  upon  any 
public  street.  The  land-owners  also  formed  a  '  Law  and  Order  Asso- 
ciation, '  and  printed  in  the  papers  a  notice  of  their  intention  to  defend 
to  the  last  their  property  under 'the  Sutler  title.  They  began  to  drill 
companies  of  militia.  A  few  personal  encounters  took  place  in  various 
vacant  lots,  where  owners  tried  to  prevent  the  erection  of  fences  or 
shanties.  Various  processes  were  served  upon  squatters,  and  executed. 
The  squatter  association  itself  plainly  suffered  a  good  deal  from  the 
internal  jealousies  or  from  the  mutual  indifference  of  its  members. 
Only  the  ardor  of  Dr.  Robinson  prevented  an  utter  failure  of  its  or- 
ganization long  before  the  crisis.  In  the  latter  part  of  June,  and  for 
some  time  in  July,  the  movement  fell  into  the  background  of  public 
attention." 

On  his  return,  in  July,  the  Doctor  found  great  discourage- 
ment among  the  squatters.  Suits  were  innumerable,  and 
bondsmen  were  used  up.  The  speculators  would  try  no 
appealed  case,  that  a  legal  decision  might  be  reached  in  a 
United  States  court,  but  evidently  intended  to  worry  out  the 
squatters  in  the  justice  courts.  Under  these  circumstances 
bondsmen  must  be  had  or  this  line  of  defense  abandoned. 
Noticing  that  the  squatters  who  offered  themselves  as  bail 
uniformly  claimed  that,  although  land-holders,  their  title  was 
a  squatter's  title,  a  new  move  was  made.  The  Doctor  staked 
off  several  blocks  of  land  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  put  a 
large  tent  upon  them  and  moved  in.  At  the  next  trial  he 
offered  himself  as  bail.  Being  questioned  as  to  his  title,  he 
simply  said  it  was  as  good  as  there  was  in  the  city.  After  a 
long  time  spent  in  trying  in  vain  to  get  from  him  that  his 
title  was  a  squatter's  title,  the  prosecutor  objected,  But  the 
justice  said  the  bondsman  claimed  as  good  a  title  as  there 
was  in  the  city,  and,  as  he  could  not  try  titles,  he  must 
accept  the  claim.  On  being  questioned  as  to  the  value  of 
the  land,  it  was  placed  at  $100,000.  This  put  an  end  to 
justices'  trials,  as  it  was  found  bail  could  be  given  indefi- 
nitely. Next  came  a  trial  of  an  appealed  case  before  Judge 
Willis,  the  Probate  judge.  This  case,  of  course,  was  decided 
against  the  squatters,  and  an  appeal  asked  to  the  District 


44  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Court,  hoping  to  get  from  that  court  to  a  United  States  court. 
An  appeal  was  denied,  however,  and  the  crisis  forced.  It 
was  now  evident,  if  the  squatters  acquiesced  in  this  proceed- 
ing and  allowed  ejectment  to  be  had  under  the  circum- 
stances, their  fight  was  ended.  But  this  issue  was  foreseen 
from  the  first,  and  some  were  ready  to  meet  it,  but  not 
many.  In  the  Sacramento  Directory  for  1853,  this  case  is 
given  as  follows : 

"  The  defendant  appealed  from  this  decision  to  the  County  Court, 
and  on  the  8th  of  August,  1850,  the  case  came  for  hearing  before  Judge 
Willis,  of  the  above  tribunal.  The  defendant  at  this  trial  was  assisted 
by  McKune,  Tweed,  and  Aldrich.  Defendants  moved  for  a  nonsuit, 
on  the  ground  that  the  Recorder's  Court  had  no  jurisdiction  over  the 
case.  The  plea  was  taken  into  consideration,  but  by  the  consent  of  the 
parties  the  case  was  submitted  upon  its  merits.  The  claim  of  title  from 
Sutter  being  offered  by  plaintiffs,  defendant  objected,  and  the  objection 
was  taken  under  advisement,  which  resulted  in  the  court  overruling  the 
objection.  The  case  was  then  argued,  and  the  following  day  judgment 
was  rendered,  sustaining  the  decision  of  the  inferior  court. 

"  The  defendant  then  asked  to  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but 
there  being  no  law  at  that  time  to  sustain  the  appeal,  the  motion  was 
overruled.  During  the  proceedings  of  this  trial  both  parties  became 
excited  to  the  utmost  degree,  and  the  squatters  as  a  body  declared 
against  the  restoration  of  the  property  pursuant  to  the  judgment  of  the 
courts." 

What  occurred  after  the  decision  is  thus  described  in  the 
Overland  Monthly,  page  240  : 

' '  They  rushed  from  the  court  to  excited  meetings  outside,  and  spread 
abroad  the  news  that  Judge  \Yillis  had  not  only  decided  against  them, 
but  had  decided  that  from  him  there  was  no  appeal.  Woe  to  such  laws 
and  to  such  judges!  The  law  betrays  us.  We  will  appeal  to  the 
Higher  Law.  The  processes  of  the  courts  shall  not  be  served. 

"  Dr.  Robinson  was  not  unequal  to  the  emergency.  At  once  he 
sent  out  notices,  calling  a  mass  meeting  of  '  squatters  and  others  inter- 
ested,' to  take  place  the  same  evening,  August  loth.  It  was  Saturday, 
and  when  night  came  a  large  crowd  of  squatters,  of  land-owners,  and  of 
idlers  had  gathered.  The  traditional  leisure  of  Saturday  night  made  a 
great  part  of  the  assembly  as  cheerful  as  it  was  eager  for  novelty  ami 
interested  in  this  affair.  Great  numbers  were  there  simply  to  see  fair 
play ;  and  this  general  public,  in  their  characteristically  American  good- 


REPUDIATION    OF    COURTS.  45 

humor,  were  quite  unwilling  to  recognize  any  sort  of  seriousness  in  the 
occasion.  These  jolly  on-lookers  interrupted  the  squatter  orators,  called 
for  E.  J.  C.  Kewen  and  Sam  Brannan  as  representatives  of  the  land- 
owners, listened  to  them  a  while,  interrupted  them  when  the  thing  grew 
tedious,  and  enjoyed  the  utter  confusion  that  for  the  time  reigned  on 
the  platform.  At  length  the  crowd  were  ready  for  Dr.  Robinson  and 
his  inevitable  resolutions.  He,  for  his  part,  was  serious  enough.  He 
had  been  a  moderate  man,  he  said,  but  the  time  for  moderation  was 
past.  He  was  ready  to  have  his  corpse  left  on  his  own  bit  of  land,  ere 
he  would  yield  his  rights.  Then  he  read  his  resolutions,  which  suffi- 
ciently denounced  Judge  Willis  and  the  laws ;  and  thereafter  he  called 
for  the  sense  of  the  meeting.  Dissenting  voices  rang  out,  but  the  reso- 
lutions received  a  loud  affirmative  vote,  and  were  declared  carried.  The 
regular  business  of  the  meeting  was  now  done ;  but  for  a  long  time  yet 
various  ambitious  speakers  mounted  the  platform  and  sought  to  address 
the  crowd,  which  amused  itself  by  roaring  at  them,  or  by  watching  them 
pushed  from  their  high  place. 

"  Next  day  Dr.  Robinson  was  early  at  work,  drawing  up  in  his 
own  way  a  manifesto  to  express  the  sense  of  his  party.  It  was  a  very 
able  and  reckless  document.  Robinson  had  found  an  unanswerable 
fashion  of  stating  the  ground  for  devotion  to  the  Higher  Law,  as  op- 
posed to  State  law." 

The  following  is  substantially  the  manifesto  issued : 

"TO   THE    PEOPLE   OF   SACRAMENTO   CITY. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  a  few  individuals  have  seized  upon  nearly  all 
the  arable  public  lands  in  this  county,  and  the  following  are  some  of  the 
means  they  have  resorted  to,  in  order  to  retain  the  property  thus  taken  : 

"  First.  They  have  used  brute  force  and  torn  down  the  buildings  of 
the  settlers,  and  driven  them  from  their  homes  by  riotous  mobs. 

' '  Second.  They  have  used  threats  of  violence,  even  to  the  taking  of 
life,  if  the  occupant  or  settler  persisted  in  defending  his  property,  and 
thus  extorted  from  the  timid  their  rightful  possessions. 

"  Third.  They  have  passed  or  procured  the  passage  of  certain  rules 
in  the  so-called  Legislature  of  California,  for  the  purpose,  as  their  attor- 
neys affirm,  of  protecting  themselves  and  removing  the  settlers  from  the 
land  they  may  occupy  whether  right  or  wrong — thus  settling  the  ques- 
tion of  title  in  an  assumed  legislative  body,  which  question  can  alone  be 
settled  by  the  Supreme  Government  of  the  United  States. 

"  Fourth.  Under  said  legislative  regulations,  by  them  called  laws, 
they  have  continually  harassed  the  settler  with  suits,  and  in  many  in- 
stances compelled  him  to  abandon  his  home  for  want  of  the  means  to 
pay  the  costs  of  their  courts.  Many  others  have  paid  these  costs  with 


46  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  hope  of  carrying  their  cause  through  these  so-called  courts  to  the 
proper  tribunal  for  final  decision,  viz. :  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States. 

"  But  these  hopes  were  vain,  for  Judge  Willis,  so-called,  has  decided 
that  from  his  decision  there  is  no  appeal. 

"  And  now,  inasmuch  as  the  so-called  Legislature  is  not  recognized 
by  Congress,  and  their  rules  and  regulations  not  approved,  and  are 
therefore  of  no  binding  force  upon  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  but 
simply  advisory,  and  inasmuch  as  the  so-called  law  of  'Forcible  Entry 
and  Detainer,'  if  passed  for  the  purpose  affirmed  by  their  council, 
namely,  to  drive  off  settlers,  with  or  without  title,  is  unconstitutional, 
and  would  be  in  any  State ;  the  people  in  this  community  called  settlers, 
and  others  who  are  friends  of  justice  and  humanity,  in  consideration  of 
the  above,  have  determined  to  disregard  all  decisions  of  our  courts  in 
land  cases  and  all  summonses  or  executions  by  the  sheriff,  constable,  or 
other  officer  of  the  present  county  or  city  touching  this  matter.  They 
will  regard  the  said  officers  as  private  citizens,  as  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Constitution  they  are,  and  hold  them  accountable  accordingly.  And, 
moreover,  if  there  is  no  other  appeal  from  Judge  Willis,  the  settlers  and 
others,  on  the  first  show  of  violence  to  their  persons  or  property,  either 
by  the  sheriff  or  other  person,  under  color  of  any  execution  or  writ  of 
restitution,  based  on  any  judgment  or  decree  of  any  court  in  this  county, 
in  an  action  to  recover  possession  of  land,  have  deliberately  resoh'ed  to 
appeal  to  arms  and  protect  their  sacred  rights,  if  need  be,  with  their 
lives. 

"  Should  such  be  rendered  necessary  by  the  acts  of  the  sheriff  or 
others,  the  settlers  will  be  governed  by  martial  law.  All  property,  and 
the  persons  of  such  as  do  not  engage  in  the  contest,  will  be  sacredly 
regarded  and  protected  by  them,  whether  land-holders  or  otherwise,  but 
the  property  and  lives  of  those  who  take  the  field  against  them  will 
share  the  fate  of  war." 

As  it  was  understood  that  the  sheriff  would  take  possession 
of  the  property  in  dispute  on  Monday  morning,  several 
squatters  were  on  hand  to  protect  it.  The  situation  and 
spirit  of  the  movement  is  described  in  a  letter  found  in  the 
Doctor's  tent,  and  published  in  the  papers  of  the  day.  It 
is  as  follows : 

"  August  12,  1850. — Although  I  have  written  one  letter,  yet,  as  I 
have  been  called  upon  by  circumstances  to  remain  in  town,  and  as  I 
have  a  little  leisure,  I  will  talk  with  you  a  little,  my  dear  S.  Since 
writing  you,  we  have  seen  much  and  experienced  much  of  a  serious  and 


POSITION    STATED.  47 

important  character,  as  well  as  much  of  excitement.  The  county  judge, 
before  whom  our  cases  were  brought,  decided  against  us,  and  on  Satur- 
day morning  declared  that  from  his  decision  there  should  be  no  appeal. 
The  squatters  immediately  collected  on  the  ground  in  dispute,  and 
posted,  on  large  bills,  the  following:  '  OUTRAGE  !  !  !  Shall  Judge 
Willis  be  dictator  ?  Squatters,  and  all  other  republicans,  are  invited  to 
meet  on  the  Levee  this  evening,  to  hear  the  details.'  It  was  responded 
to  by  both  parties,  and  the  speculators,  as  aforetime,  attempted  to  talk 
against  time,  etc.  On  the  passage  of  a  series  of  resolutions  presented 
by  your  humble  servant,  there  were  about  three  ayes  to  one  nay,  al- 
though the  Transcript  said  they  were  about  equal.  Sunday  morning  I 
drew  up  a  manifesto — carried  it  with  me  to  the  church — paid  one  dollar 
for  preaching — helped  them  sing — showed  it  to  a  lawyer  to  see  if  my 
position  was  correct,  legally,  and  procured  the  printing  of  it  in  hand- 
bills and  in  the  paper,  after  presenting  it  to  a  private  meeting  of  citizens 
for  their  approval,  which  I  addressed  at  some  length.  After  a  long 
talk  for  the  purpose  of  consoling  a  gentleman  just  in  from  the  plains, 
and  who  the  day  before  had  buried  his  wife,  whom  he  loved  most  ten- 
derly, and  a  few  days  previous  to  that  had  lost  his  son,  I  threw  myself 
upon  my  blankets  and  '  anxiously  thought  of  the  morrow.' 

"  What  will  be  the  result  ?  Shall  I  be  borne  out  in  my  position? 
On  whom  can  I  depend  ?  How  many  of  those  who  are  squatters  will 
come  out  if  there  is  a  prospect  of  a  fight  ?  Will  the  sheriff  take  pos- 
session, as  he  has  promised,  before  10  o'clock  A.M.?  How  many 
speculators  will  fight  ?  Have  I  distinctly  defined  our  position  in  the 
bill  ?  Will  the  world,  the  universe  and  God  say  it  is  just  ? — etc.,  etc., 
etc.  Will  you  call  me  rash  if  I  tell  you  that  I  took  these  steps  to  this 
point  when  I  could  get  but  twenty-five  men  to  pledge  themselves  on 
paper  to  sustain  me,  and  many  of  them,  I  felt,  were  timid  ?  Such  was 
the  case. 

"  This  morning  I  was  early  on  my  feet,  silently  and  quietly  visiting 
my  friends,  collecting  arms,  etc.  Our  manifesto  appeared  in  the  paper 
and  in  bills  early,  and  the  whole  town  is  aroused.  Nothing  is  thought 
or  talked  of  but  war.  About  two  hundred  men  assembled  on  the  dis- 
puted territory,  and  most  of  them  sympathized  with  us.  A  few,  how- 
ever, were  spies.  We  chose  our  commander,  and  enrolled  such  as  were 
willing  and  ready  to  lay  down  their  lives,  if  need  be,  in  the  cause. 
About  fifty  names  could  be  obtained.  I  managed,  by  speeches,  busi- 
ness, etc.,  to  keep  the  spectators  and  fighters  mingled  in  a  mass,  all 
unarmed,  so  as  to  let  no  one  know  but  all  were  men  of  valor,  and  ready 
to  fight.  While  thus  engaged,  the  mayor  appeared  and  addressed  us 
from  his  saddle — not  ordering  us  to  disperse,  but  advising  us  to  do  so. 
I  replied,  most  respectfully,  that  we  were  assembled  to  injure  no  one, 
and  to  assail  no  one  who  left  us  alone.  W7e  were  on  our  own  property, 


48  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

with  no  hostile  intention  while  unmolested.  After  he  left  I,  with 
others,  was  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  him  at  his  office,  and 
state  distinctly  our  positions,  etc.,  so  that  there  could  be  no  possibility 
of  mistake.  He  said  he  should  use  his  influence  as  an  individual  to 
keep  any  one  from  destroying  our  property,  and  told  us  the  sheriff  had 
just  told  him  that  the  executions  from  the  court  had  been  postponed. 
We  returned,  and  after  reporting,  and  making  some  further  arrangement 
for  another  meeting  if  necessary,  we  adjourned.  I  told  the  mayor  we 
should  not  remain  together  if  no  attempt  was  to  be  made  to  execute 
their  warrants,  but  I  told  him  if  in  the  meantime  a  sheriff  or  any  other 
person  molested  a  squatter,  we  should  hold  him  responsible,  according 
to  our  proclamation.  From  this  position  we  could  not  be  driven,  al- 
though we  knew  it  was  in  violation  of  the  regulations  of  the  State. 
We  were  prepared  to  abide  the  result. 

"  It  is  said  that  a  writ  is  made  out  for  my  arrest,  as  a  rebel,  etc.  If 
so,  it  will  not  probably  be  served  at  present." 

No  sooner  had  the  squatters  left  the  property  in  dispute, 
than  the  sheriff,  contrary  to  the  assurances  given  by  the 
mayor,  appeared,  removed  the  furniture  and  property  of  the 
owner,  and  placed  a  keeper  in  charge.  Also  he  arrested 
some  of  the  squatters  and  placed  them  on  the  prison  ship. 
Thus  another  step  had  been  taken.  If  the  premises  should 
be  permitted  to  remain  with  the  officers,  the  speculators 
would  be  victorious,  as  all  other  cases  would  take  the  same 
course.  But,  should  the  squatters  retake  this  property  in 
defiance  of  the  so-called  officer,  nothing  would  be  gained  by 
the  suit.  It  would  have  to  be  tried  over  again,  dc  ntrco,  as 
the  lawyers  say,  or  the  squatters  tried  for  contempt  of  court. 
As  these  courts,  like  the  justice  of  the  peace  who  fined  a 
man  in  the  street  for  contempt,  were  all  and  at  all  times  ob- 
jects of  contempt,  they  would  'not  be  likely  to  resort  to  this 
remedy.  But  something  must  be  done.  It  was  now  the 
squatters'  turn  to  act.  Leading  squatters  avoided  arrest 
during  the  day,  and  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  Doctor's  tent 
at  night.  Here  the  situation  was  fully  discussed  and  a  plan 
of  procedure  adopted.  All  were  to  meet  early  the  next 
morning  under  an  oak  tree  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city  and 
march  to  the  disputed  property  and  retake  it.  Maloney,  a 


WAR    MOVEMENTS.  49 

soldier  in  the  Mexican  war,  was  to  be  military  leader.  To 
avoid  arrest,  he  and  the  Doctor  went  some  six  miles  into  the 
country  and  stopped  over  night  at  Maloney's  claim.  Early 
in  the  morning  the  two  rode  to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  but 
found  not  a  solitary  squatter.  They  immediately  started 
out  to  rally  their  forces.  Evidently  the  courage  that  mani- 
fested itself  so  defiantly  at  squatter  meetings,  with  no  enemy 
in  sight,  had  all  oozed  out  of  these  brave  men.  Some  of 
the  loudest,  and  apparently  the  boldest,  were  found  in  bed 
trembling  like  aspen  leaves.  At  length,  after  a  search  of 
some  four  or  five  hours,  fifteen  men,  all  told,  were  mustered. 
These  were  drilled  for  a  short  time  by  Captain  Maloney  be- 
fore starting  on  their  errand.  The  martial  spirit  took  pos- 
session of  Maloney  and  he  wanted  to  ride  the  Doctor's 
cream-colored  horse.  A  gentleman  just  in  from  crossing 
the  plains,  sympathized  with  the  movement,  and  lent  the 
Doctor  his  Colt's  six-shooter  rifle.  The  only  swearing  in 
was  an  oath  to  obey  orders  of  the  commander,  or  be  shot  as 
a  penalty.  Thus,  after  devoting  the  afternoon  of  one  day 
and  nearly  the  whole  night,  and  the  forenoon  of  the  next 
day,  an  army  of  fifteen  men,  armed  and  equipped,  was  ready 
to  carry  into  effect  the  resolution  adopted  soon  after  the  sick 
man  was  dragged  from  his  shelter  and  left  exposed  to  the 
elements,  eight  months  before.  When  the  order  was  given, 
"  Forward,  march  !  "  it  was  high  noon  of  a  very  hot  day.  The 
squatter  army  of  fourteen  men  and  one  commander  marched 
in  a  solid  column,  seven  abreast,  down  N  street,  with  all  the 
circumstance  of  grim-visaged  war.  The  house  of  A.  M. 
Winn,  .former  president  of  the  City  Council,  was  on  the  line 
of  march,  and,  unfortunately,  Captain  Maloney  had  a  bitter 
grudge  against  this  ex-president.  As  the  house  was  ap- 
proached, Maloney  turned  upon  his  horse  and  said  he  would 
order  this  house  destroyed.  The  Doctor  at  once  denounced 
such  a  proceeding  as  fatal  to  the  success  of  the  squatter 
movement.  The  Captain  apparently  abandoned  his  purpose, 
but,  when  directly  opposite  the  house,  he  turned  again  and 


50  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

said,  "  We  will  never  have  a  better  time,"  and  was  about  to 
give  his  order.  The  Doctor  sprang  forward,  rifle  in  hand, 
and  told  him  if  he  opened  his  mouth  to  order  the  destruction 
of  that  property  he  would  blow  his  brains  out.  This  seemed 
to  stagger  the  Captain.  Here  was  a  private  in  the  ranks 
who,  not  fifteen  minutes  before,  had  taken  an  oath  to  obey 
his  orders  or  be  shot,  now,  coming  forward,  rifle  in  hand, 
and  threatening  to  blow  his  brains  out  if  he  issued  an  order. 
But  he  apparently  made  a  merit  of  necessity  and  again 
moved  on,  saying  he  would  give  the  order  when  he  came 
back.  At  this  exhibition  of  lack  of  comprehension  of  the 
issue  involved,  and  the  work  to  be  done,  the  Doctor  was 
greatly  disturbed.  To  act  on  the  defensive  in  protecting  the 
houses  of  peaceable  settlers  against  the  most  arrogant  usurpa- 
tion and  oppression  was  one  thing,  but  to  take  the  offensive, 
destroy  private  property,  where  a  school  was  in  session,  and 
which  was  in  no  way  connected  with  questions  involved, 
was  quite  another.  In  the  first  case  the  sympathies  of  all 
good  people  would  be  enlisted,  while  in  the  second  men  and 
women  of  all  classes  would  unite  to  put  down  the  vandals. 
Evidently,  this  Maloney  did  not  see,  or,  if  he  saw  it,  his 
passions  upset  his  judgment. 

At  length  the  house  in  controversy  was  reached,  at  the 
corner  of  N  and  Second  streets.  The  keeper  placed  in 
charge  by  the  sheriff  was  absent,  and  nothing  remained  to 
do  but  take  formal  possession  and  replace  the  furniture  and 
property  in  the  house  where  it  belonged.  Fearing  Maloney 
would  be  uncontrollable  if  he  should  return  by  the  ex-presi- 
dent's house,  the  Doctor  advised  that  a  lot  on  I  street.should 
be  visited,  where  some  lumber  had  been  deposited  from  a 
vessel  without  consulting  the  squatter  claimant.  This  would 
take  the  squatters  out  of  town  by  another  route.  I  street 
was  accordingly  visited,  but,  as  the  owner  of  the  lumber  had 
no  designs  upon  the  lot,  nothing  was  to  be  done.  Soon 
after  the  march  was  commenced,  the  sheriff  and  mayor 
could  be  seen  on  horseback  galloping  in  every  direction  to 


BATTLE.  5  I 

rally  their  friends  to  the  rescue.  As  laboring  people  were 
released  from  work  for  dinner,  many  of  them  from  curiosity 
joined  the  procession,  which,  by  the  time  I  street  was  reached 
was  numbered  by  the  thousand.  Some  were  armed  with 
rifles  and  shot-guns,  and  more  with  revolvers.  The  squatters 
marched  and  carried  themselves  like  veterans,  never  breaking 
ranks  or  being  disconcerted  by  the  immense  crowd  at  their 
heels. 

As  nothing  was  to  be  done  at  the  lot  on  I  street,  Maloney 
was  requested  to  march  out  of  town  on  that  street,  as  it  was 
but  thinly  settled,  and  no  disturbances  would  be  likely  to 
occur.  He  marched  up  I  street  to  Third,  when,  to  the 
amazement  of  the  Doctor,  he  turned  and  passed  to  J  street, 
the  business  street  of  the  town.  This  was  the  home  of  the 
saloons,  gambling-houses,  and  rabble,  as  well  as  the  business 
places.  Now  the  crowd  of  followers  was  increased  im- 
mensely, and  composed  of  the  most  desperate  characters  as 
well  as  of  the  curiosity-seekers.  The  march  was  up  J  street 
to  Fourth,  where  a  turn  was  made  to  the  south.  The  squat- 
ters had  but  just  turned  the  corner  of  J  street  and  Fourth, 
when  a  shout  was  raised  and  the  mayor,  sheriff,  and  their 
adherents  opened  fire,  doubtless  contemplating  a  stampede 
of  the  army  of  fifteen.  But  on  the  instant  Maloney  gave 
the  order  to  face  about  and  fire.  No  one  objected  -to  this 
order,  and  it  was  promptly  obeyed.  No  sooner  was  the  fire 
of  the  mayor's  crowd  returned  than  all  fled  in  hot  haste. 
In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  record  it,  the  space  was  cleared 
in  front  of  the  squatters.  As  the  mayor  was  on  horseback, 
he  was  a  shining  mark,  and  was  badly  wounded,  losing  one 
arm.  The  city  auditor,  who  had  been  very  prominent  and 
offensive,  was  killed.  One  squatter  also  was  killed  in  the 
first  encounter.  After  the  crowd  had  fled,  and  while  the 
squatters  were  still  in  line,  one  man,  named  Harper,  passed 
up  J  street,  and  when  opposite  the  Doctor,  he  suddenly 
stopped  and  fired  his  revolver,  the  ball  passing  through  the 
Doctor's  body  two  inches  below  the  heart.  The  Doctor 


52  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

then  raised  his  rifle  and  returned  the  fire,  the  ball  striking 
the  breast-bone  of  Harper  and  glancing  off  without  entering 
the  body.  The  next  the  Doctor  knew,  after  firing  at  Har- 
per, he  found  himself  upon  the  ground.  How  he  got  there, 
or  how  long  he  had  been  there,  he  had  no  knowledge.  On 
looking  about,  he  could  see  no  human  being,  either  squatter, 
speculator,  or  spectator,  and  being  thirsty,  he  crawled  slowly 
into  an  eating-house  opposite  where  he  lay.  The  inmates 
were  timid,  and  at  first  afraid  to  furnish  the  water  craved. 
Soon,  however,  some  physicians  made  their  appearance,  and 
he  was  placed  upon  a  cot  and  well  cared  for.  While  in  this 
position,  rapid  firing  was  heard  in  the  street  or  alley  near 
by,  of  short  duration.  It  was  soon  reported  that  Captain 
Maloney  and  his  horse  were  killed.  It  was  afterwards 
learned  that  when  all  opponents  had  fled,  the  squatters 
quietly  separated,  each  going  his  own  way,  and  while 
Maloney  was  riding  along  the  street  the  sheriff  galloped  up 
and  denounced  him  in  most  ungallant  terms.  Maloney, 
although  armed  with  no  weapon  except  a  saber,  while  the 
sheriff  was  loaded  down  with  revolvers,  turned  and  pursued 
his  assailant,  who  led  into  a  crowd  of  speculators  well  armed. 
They  at  once  opened  fire,  killing  the  horse,  and  planting 
eighteen  bullets  in  Maloney's  body.  Soon  after  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  heroic  deed,  this  pretended  sheriff,  covered 
with  sweat  and  glory,  made  his  appearance  at  the  eating- 
house  to  arrest  the  Doctor  and  take  him  to  the  prison  ship. 
As  at  this  time  his  wound  was  supposed  to  be  mortal,  and 
there  being  no  pulsation  at  the  wrist  the  end  might  be  near, 
the  physicians  demurred  and  made  the  little  dignitary  wait. 
However,  reaction  came  on,  the  pulse  at  the  wrist  returned, 
and  in  about  three  hours  from  the  time  of  the  encounter  the 
Doctor  was  removed  to  the  prison  ship.  As  he  was  carried 
on  the  cot  the  whole  city  seemed  to  be  on  some  of  the 
streets  through  which  he  passed.  Sidewalks,  verandas. 
roofs,  and  everything  that  could  hold  a  human  being  seemed 
to  be  in  requisition.  Not  a  word  was  uttered  in  the  hearing 


EFFECT    OF    THE    BATTLE.  53 

of  the  prisoner,  and  there  was  an  anxious  silence  that  could 
be  felt.  On  reaching  the  prison  ship  his  brother,  who  had 
accompanied  him  thus  far,  was  turned  away,  and  the  prisoner 
was  placed  in  the  forecastle.  The  only  other  occupant  was 
a  violently  insane  foreigner  who  muttered  in  an  unknown 
language,  beating  the  sides  of  the  vessel  with  his  head  and 
otherwise  most  of  the  time.  Here  the  prisoner  was  left  until 
late  the  next  morning,  evidently  with  no  expectation  on  the 
part  of  the  officials  of  any  other  trouble  than  that  of  a 
burial. 

The  effect  upon  the  town  of  this  encounter  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Royce,  in  Overland  Monthly,  page  243 : 

"  Like  a  lightning  flash  the  battle  came  and  was  done.  The  array 
of  the  squatters  melted  away  like  a  mist  when  the  two  leaders  were  seen 
to  fall ;  the  confused  mass  of  the  citizens,  shocked  and  awe-stricken  when 
they  were  not  terrified,  waited  no  longer  on  the  field  than  others,  but 
scattered  wildly.  A  few  moments  later,  when  Dr.  Stillman  returned 
with  his  shot-gun,  which,  on  the  first  firing,  he  had  gone  but  half  a 
block  to  get,  the  street  was  quite  empty  of  armed  men.  He  waited  for 
some  time  to  see  any  one  in  authority.  At  length  Lieutenant-Governor 
McDougal  appeared,  riding  at  full  speed,  '  his  face  very  pale.' 

'  '  Get  all  the  armed  men  you  can,'  he  said,  '  and  rendezvous  at 
Fowler's  hotel.' 

"  '  I  went  to  the  place  designated,'  says  Dr.  Stillman,  '  and  there 
found  a  few  men,  who  had  got  an  old  iron  ship's  gun,  mounted  on  a 
wooden  truck ;  to  its  axles  was  fastened  a  long  dray  pole.  The  gun 
was  loaded  with  a  lot  of  scrap  iron.  I  wanted  to  know  where  Mc- 
Dougal was  ;  we  expected  him  to  take  the  command  and  die  with  us.  I 
inquired  of  Mrs.  McDougal,  who  was  stopping  at  the  hotel,  what  had 
become  of  her  husband.  She  said  he  had  gone  to  San  Francisco  for 
assistance.  Indeed,  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  steamer  Senator  when  I 
saw  him,  and  he  left  his  horse  on  the  bank  of  the  river.' 

"  In  such  swift,  dream-like  transformations  the  experiences  of  the 
rest  of  the  day  passed  by.  Rumors  were  countless.  The  squatters 
had  gone  out  of  the  city ;  they  would  soon  return.  They  were  seven 
hundred  strong.  They  meant  vengeance.  They  would  fire  the  city. 
Yes,  they  already  had  fired  the  city,  although  nobody  knew  where. 
No  one  could  foresee  the  end  of  the  struggle.  The  city  had  been  de- 
clared under  martial  law.  Everybody  must  come  out.  The  whole 
force  of  the  State  would  doubtless  be  needed.  If  the  squatters  failed 
now,  they  would  go  to  the  mines,  and  arouse  the  whole  population 


54  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

there.  One  would  have  to  fight  all  the  miners  as  well.  Such  things 
flew  from  mouth  to  mouth  ;  such  reports  the  StHator  carried  to  San 
Francisco,  with  the  pale-faced  Lieutenant-Governor." 

When  the  speculators  found  that  the  squatters  proposed 
to  live  up  to  their  manifesto,  and  act  only  on  the  defensive, 
the  panic  began  to  subside.  But  some  thought  it  a  good 
opportunity  to  make  an  end  of  squatters  and  squatterism 
altogether.  The  military  leader  had  been  riddled  with  bul- 
lets, and  the  civil  leader  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  hold 
of  the  prison  ship.  Who  now  would  dare  stand  out  against 
the  Sutler  grant  ?  The  daily  papers  were  filled  with  glorifi- 
cation over  the  situation,  and  various  officials  and  others 
were  brevetted  for  wonderful  deeds  of  valor.  Especially 
was  the  little  red-headed  sheriff  a  marvel  as  a  strategist  and 
hero-general.  These  panegyrics  were  too  much  for  so  small 
a  man,  and  he  began  to  thirst  for  more  blood  and  glory. 
The  second  day  he  rallied  a  posse  and  started  into  the 
country,  some  seven  or  eight  miles,  to  arrest  "old  man 
Allen,"  as  he  was  called.  This  man  was  a  stalwart  squatter, 
over  six  feet  in  height,  from  Missouri.  He  had  a  claim  that 
somebody  wanted,  and  he  must  go.  It  is  true  he  was  some 
seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  Sacramento  River,  and  Sut- 
ler's grant  was  but  one  league  wide,  but  that  was  immaterial ; 
his  grant  was  as  valid  in  one  place  as  another  if  a  claim  was 
made  under  it.  On  arriving  at  its  destination,  the  sheriff's 
posse  was  divided  into  three  squads,  one  for  the  front  and 
one  for  each  end  of  the  house,  while  the  rear  was  covered 
by  the  American  River.  The  bold  sheriff  commanded  the 
front  squad,  and  marched  up  to  the  front  door.  When 
Allen,  who  was  caring  for  his  sick  wife,  who  died  in  the 
iHt'lee,  came  to  the  door,  his  surrender  was  demanded.  But 
he  understood  this  game,  and  surrendered  the  contents  of  his 
shot-gun  instead  of  himself.  This  quieted  this  brave  officer 
effectually,  and  the  posse  took  him  back  to  town.  Several 
shots  were  fired  at  Allen,  but  he  escaped  into  the  American 
River  in  the  rear  of  his  house.  Two  men  in  the  house  were 


DEATH    OF    THE    SHERIFF.  55 

killed.  When  the  posse  left,  Allen  left  his  hiding-place  and 
went  to  the  mines.  On  the  return  of  this  posse  with  the 
dead  body  of  its  leader,  the  music  was  pitched  in  a  new  key. 
The  city,  which,  according  to  Mr.  Royce,  "  was  never  safer, 
as  a  whole,  than  a  few  hours  after  the  fatal  meeting  at  the 
corner  of  Fourth  and  J  streets,"  was  again  all  excitement. 
This  same  writer,  on  page  245,  says: 

"  The  city  was  not  reassured  by  the  news  of  the  sheriff's  death.  In 
the  unlighted  streets  of  the  frightened  place,  the  alarm  was  sounded  by 
the  returning  party  about  nine  o'clock.  Of  course,  invasion  and  fire 
were  expected.  The  militia  companies  turned  out,  detailed  patrolling 
parties,  and  then  ordered  the  streets  cleared.  The  danger  was  immi- 
nent that  the  defenders  of  the  law  would  pass  the  night  in  shooting  one 
another  by  mistake  in  the  darkness  ;  but  this  was  happily  avoided.  The 
families  in  the  town  were,  of  course,  terribly  excited.  'The  ladies,' 
says  Dr.  Stiilman,  '  were  nearly  frightened  out  of  their  wits ;  but  we 
assured  them  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear — that  we  were  devoted 
to  their  service,  and  were  ready  to  die  at  their  feet.  Being  thus  as- 
sured, they  all  retired  into  their  cozy  little  cottages,  and  securely  bolted 
the  doors.'  Morning  came,  bringing  with  it  the  steamer  from  San 
Francisco.  Lieutenant-Governor  McDougal  was  on  board.  He  felt 
seriously  the  responsibilities  of  his  position,  and  accordingly  went  to 
bed,  sick  with  the  cares  of  office.  In  the  city  Sam  Brannan  and  others 
talked  mightily  of  law,  order,  and  blood.  There  were,  however,  no 
more  battles  to  fight.  In  a  few  days,  quiet  was  restored  ;  people  were 
ashamed  of  their  alarm.  Squatters  confined  themselves  to  meeting  in 
the  mining  districts  and  in  Marysville,  to  savage  manifestoes,  and  to 
wordy  war  from  a  distance,  with  sullen  submission  near  home.  The 
real  war  was  done.  A  tacit  consent  to  drop  the  subject  was  soon  no- 
ticeable in  the  community.  Men  said  that  the  law  must  be  enforced, 
and  meanwhile  determined  to  speak  no  ill  of  the  dead.  There  was  a 
decided  sense,  also,  of  common  guilt.  The  community  had  sinned  and 
suffered.  And  soon  the  cholera,  and  then  the  winter,  '  closed  the 
autumn  scene.' " 

The  reader  will  notice  a  wonderful  change  in  this  extract 
from  the  mighty  talk  of  "  law,  order,  and  blood,"  by  Brannan 
and  others,  to  the  statement  that  immediately  followed, 
namely :  "  There  were,  however,  no  more  battles  to  fight. 
In  a  few  days  quiet  was  restored.  *  *  *  A  tacit  con- 
sent to  drop  the  subject  was  soon  noticeable  in  the  com- 


56  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

munity."  But  why  was  the  subject  dropped '?  This  seems 
to  be  a  most  lame  and  impotent  conclusion  of  a  great  war 
in  which  the  speculators,  according  to  this  and  other  writers, 
were  victorious.  The  reasons  for  this  sudden  termination 
of  hostilities  and  apparent  change  of  front,  the  speculators 
and  their  defenders  do  not  care  to  give,  and  they  cannot  be 
censured  for  the  omission.  But  they  should  be  given  for 
the  benefit  of  the  historian.  After  the  dead  sheriff  was 
brought  into  town,  the  keeper  of  the  prison  ship  visited  his 
squatter  prisoner  and  reported  what  had  happened.  He 
said  the  sheriff  went  out  to  arrest  "  old  man  Allen,"  and  the 
latter  shot  him  dead.  He  seemed  much  excited  and  exas- 
perated that  any  man  should  have  the  temerity  to  defend 
himself  in  that  way.  The  prisoner  ventured  to  inquire  after 
the  squatters.  "  Where  were  they  and  what  were  they  do- 
ing? "  "  Squatters,"  said  the  keeper,  "  they  are  annihilated, 
or  will  be  as  fast  as  found."  This  reply  caused  an  invisible 
and  incredulous  smile  on  the  part  of  the  prisoner,  but  noth- 
ing more  was  said. 

About  the  second  night  after  this  transaction,  the  keeper 
again  visited  his  prisoner,  still  greatly  excited,  but  in  another 
way.  He  now  came  to  ask  a  favor.  He  said  word  had 
come  from  the  mines  that  the  miners  had  resolved  to  visit 
Sacramento,  rescue  the  prisoners,  and  sack  the  town,  if 
another  squatter  was  disturbed  or  the  prisoners  were  ill- 
treated.  To  prevent  any  further  trouble,  would  the  prisoner 
be  so  kind  as  to  authorize  him  to  send  word  to  the  miners 
that  he,  the  prisoner,  did  not  want  to  be  rescued.  This 
would  quiet  the  town,  which  was  very  much  excited.  The 
prisoner  said,  while  he  had  no  desire  for  a  rescue,  he  had  no 
word  to  send  to  the  miners  or  other  parties.  They  must  act 
as  they  thought  best.  Here  was  a  new  song,  with  a  very 
different  tune  from  the  one  sung  two  nights  before.  1 1  was 
afterwards  reported  that  old  man  Allen  reached  a  mining 
camp  the  next  day,  after  killing  the  sheriff,  while  the  miners 
were  at  dinner.  He  was  hatless  and  coatless,  and  covered 


WAR    AT    AN    END.  57 

with  mud  and  blood  from  head  to  foot.  In  this  plight  he 
told  the  story  of  the  squatter  riot  and  of  his  encounter  with 
the  sheriff.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  here  was  the  inspira- 
tion for  the  resolution  to  destroy  the  town  if  such  proceed- 
ings did  not  cease.  Two  men  were  sent  as  spies  from  the 
speculators  to  see  if  Allen  could  be  arrested.  Naturally, 
their  report  was  unfavorable. 

Also,  the  visiting  militia  may  have  had  something  to  do 
with  the  sudden  change  in  the  atmosphere  at  Sacramento. 
The  company  that  came  up  from  San  Francisco  called  in  a 
body  upon  the  prisoner,  in  his  forecastle,  and  after  standing 
about  the  cot  for  a  few  moments,  an  officer  whispered  in  the 
ear  of  the  prisoner  that  he  and  his  friends  had  nothing  to 
fear  from  them,  as  they  had  investigated  the  matter  and 
approved  of  the  course  the  squatters  had  taken.  Under  all 
the  circumstances,  it  is  not  surprising  that  "  a  tacit  consent 
to  drop  the  subject  was  soon  noticeable  in  the  community," 
and  that  there  was  also  "  a  decided  sense  of  common  guilt " 
on  the  part  of  the  speculators.  Mr.  Royce  says,  while  there 
were  meetings  and  manifestoes  in  the  mines,  "  there  was 
sullen  submission  near  home."  The  platform  of  the  squat- 
ters from  first  to  last  was  protection  to  the  occupant  of  land 
in  possession  of  the  same  till  title  should  be  shown,  and 
when  all  opposition  to  this  possession  ceased  the  war  was 
over.  As  soon  as  all  attempts  ceased  to  get  possession  of 
land  under  forcible  entry  and  detainer  laws,  and  bogus  acts 
of  bogus  city  councils,  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  done. 
The  squatters  had  obtained  all  they  ever  demanded. 

In  order  to  make  it  appear  that  the  speculators  gained  a 
great  victory,  and  the  squatters  suffered  a  corresponding 
defeat,  writers  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  misstate  the  issue. 
Instead  of  being  the  simple  preamble  and  resolution  adopted 
at  the  first  squatters'  meeting,  namely,  "  Whereas  the  land 
in  California  is  presumed  to  be  public  land,  therefore,  re- 
solved, that  we  will  protect  any  settler  in  the  possession  of 
land  to  the  extent  of  one  lot  in  the  city  and  one  hundred 


58  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

and  sixty  acres  in  the  country,  till  a  valid  title  shall  be  shown 
for  it,"  the  writers  would  make  it  appear  that  the  squatters 
were  agrarians,  transcendentalists,  higher-law  men,  and  im- 
practicable visionaries.  A  few  quotations  from  Mr.  Royce, 
in  Ch'erlanJ  Monthly,  will  illustrate  the  general  method  of 
treating  the  issue : 

"  Providence  is  known  to  be  opposed  to  every  form  of  oppression; 
and  grabbing  eleven  leagues  of  land  is  a  great  oppression.  And  so  the 
worthlessness  of  Mexican  land  titles  is  evident. 

"  Of  course,  the  squatters  would  have  disclaimed  very  generally  so 
naked  a  statement  as  this  of  their  position.  But  when  we  read  in  one 
squatter's  card  that  '  surely  Sutler's  grant  does  not  entitle  to  a  mo- 
nopoly of  all  the  lands  in  California,  which  were  purchased  by  the  treas- 
ure of  the  whole  nation,  and  by  no  small  amount  of  the  best  blood  that 
ever  coursed  or  ran  through  American  veins,'  the  same  writer's  formal 
assurance  that  Sutler  ought  to  have  his  eleven  leagues  whenever  they 
can  be  found  and  duly  surveyed  cannot  blind  us  to  the  true  spiril  of  ihe 
argument.  \Yhat  has  this  '  best  blood'  to  do  with  the  Sutler  grant  ? 
The  connection  in  the  writer's  mind  is  only  too  obvious.  He  means 
that  the  '  best  blood '  won  for  us  a  right  to  harass  great  land-owners. 
In  another  of  these  expressions  of  squalter  opinion  I  have  found  the 
assertion  that  the  land  speculators  sland  on  a  supposed  old  Mexican 
legal  right  of  such  as  themselves  to  take  up  the  whole  territory  of  Cali- 
fornia, in  sections  of  eleven  leagues  each,  by  some  sort  of  Mexican  pre- 
emption. If  a  squalter  persists  in  understanding  the  land-owner's 
position  in  this  way,  his  contempt  for  it  is  as  natural  as  his  wilful  deter- 
mination to  make  game  of  all  native  Californian  claims  is  obvinu.-.. 
A  member,  who  has  already  been  quoted,  wrote  to  the  1'laccr 
Times  that,  '  with  the  Sutler  men  there  has  been  and  is  now  money  and 
power,  and  some  of  them  are  improving  every  opportunity  to  trouble 
and  oppress  the  pfitct-ablc,  hard-wking,  ordcr-hri'in^,  and  law-abiding 
settler,  which,  in  the  absence  of  the  mass  of  the  people  in  the  mines 
they  do  with  comparative  impunity.'  The  italics  are  his  own.  The 
letter  concluded  with  an  assurance  thai  the  settlers  were  organized  to 
maintain  what  'country,  nature,  and  Cod  '  had  given  to  them.  The 
mention  of  the  '  absence  of  the  people  in  the  Tiiines  '  is  very  character- 
istic  of  ihe  purposes  of  ihe  squalters  ;  and  the  reference  to  '  country, 
nalure,  and  God '  illustrates  once  more  the  spirit  of  the  movement. 
*  *  *  The  movement  was  plainly  an  agrarian  and  ultra-American 
movement,  opposed  to  all  great  land-owners,  and  especially  to  all  these 
Mexican  grantees. 

"  The  appeal  quoted  above,  to  '  nalure,  counlry,  and  dod,'  is  also,  as 


FALSE    ISSUE.  59 

I  have  said,  characteristic  of  the  spirit  of  the  movement.  The  writer 
of  the  letter  in  question  is  very  probably  no  other  than  the  distinguished 
squatter  leader,  Dr.  Charles  Robinson  himself,  a  man  to  whom  the 
movement  seems  to  have  owed  nearly  all  its  ability.  And  when  we 
speak  of  Dr.  Robinson,  we  have  to  do  with  no  insignificant  dema- 
gogue or  unprincipled  advocate  of  wickedness,  but  with  a  high-minded 
and  conscientious  man,  who  chanced  just  then  to  be  in  the  devil's  serv- 
ice, but  who  served  the  devil  honestly,  thoughtfully,  and,  so  far  as  he 
could,  dutifully,  believing  him  to  be  an  angel  of  light.  This  future 
Free-Soil  Governor  of  Kansas,  this  cautious,  clear-headed,  and  vigorous 
anti-slavery  champion  of  the  troublous  days  before  the  war,  who  has 
since  survived  so  many  bitter  quarrels  with  old  foes  and  old  friends,  to 
enjoy,  now  at  last,  his  peaceful  age  at  his  home  in  Lawrence,  Kansas, 
is  not  a  man  of  whom  one  may  speak  with  contempt,  however  serious 
his  error  in  Sacramento  may  seem.  He  was  a  proper  hero  for  this 
tragic  comedy,  and  '  nature,  country,  and  God  '  were  his  guiding  ideals. 
Only  you  must  understand  the  character  that  these  slightly  vague  ideals 
seem  to  have  assumed  in  his  mind.  He  was  a  new-comer  of  '49,  and 
hailed  from  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts.  He  was  a  college  graduate,  had 
studied  medicine,  had  afterwards  rebelled  against  the  technicalities  of 
the  code  of  his  local  association,  and  had  become  an  independent  prac- 
titioner. His  friends  and  interests,  as  his  whole  subsequent  career 
showed,  were  with  the  party  of  the  cultivated  New  England  Radicals 
of  that  day.  And  these  cultivated  Radicals  of  the  anti-slavery  genera- 
tion, and  especially  of  Massachusetts,  were  a  type  in  which  an  impartial 
posterity  will  take  a  huge  delight ;  for  they  combined  so  characteristic- 
ally shrewdness,  insight,  devoutness,  vanity,  idealism,  and  self-worship. 
To  speak  of  them,  of  course  in  the  rough  and  as  a  mass,  they  were 
usually  believers  in  quite  abstract  ideals  :  men  who  knew  how  to  meet 
God  '  in  the  bush '  whenever  they  wanted,  and  so  avoided  him  in  the 
mart  and  the  crowded  street ;  men  who  had  '  dwelt  cheek  by  jowl,  since 
the  day'  they  were  'born,  with  the  Infinite  Soul,'  and  whose  relations 
with  him  were  like  those  of  any  man  with  his  own  private  property. 
This  Infinite  that  they  worshipped  was,  however,  in  his  relations  to 
the  rest  of  the  world  too  often  rather  abstract,  a  Deits  absconditiis,  who 
was  as  remote  from  the  imperfections  and  absurdities  of  the  individual 
laws  and  processes  of  human  society  as  he  was  near  to  the  heart  of  his 
chosen  worshippers.  From  him  they  got  a  so-called  Higher  Law.  As 
it  was  ideal,  and,  like  its  author,  very  abstract,  it  was  far  above  the 
erring  laws  of  men,  and  it  therefore  relieved  its  obedient  servants  from 
all  entangling  earthly  allegiances.  If  the  Constitution  upon  which  our 
sinful  national  existence  depended,  and  upon  which  our  only  hope  of 
better  things  also  depended,  was  contradicted  by  this  Higher  Law,  then 
the  Constitution  was  a  '  league  with  hell,'  and  anybody  could  set  up  for 


60  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

himself,  and  he  and  the  Infinite  might  carry  on  a  government  of  their 
own.  Well,  Dr.  Robinson,  also,  had  evidently  learned  much, 

in  his  own  way,  from  teachers  of  this  school.  The  complex  and  weari- 
some details  of  Spanish  law  plainly  do  not  interest  him,  since  he  is  at  home 
in  the  divine  Higher  Law.  Concrete  rights  of  rapacious  land  speculators 
in  Sacramento  are  unworthy  of  the  attention  of  one  who  sees  so  clearly 
into  the  abstract  right  of  man.  God  is  not  in  the  Sutler  grant,  that  is 
plain.  It  is  the  mission  of  the  squatters  to  introduce  the  divine  justice 
into  California;  no  absurd  justice  that  depends  upon  erroneous  lines  of 
latitude,  and  establishments  at  New  Helvetia,  and  other  like  blundering 
details  of  dark  Spanish  days,  but  the  justice  that  can  be  expressed  in 
grand  abstract  formulae,  and  that  will  hear  of  no  less  arbiter  than  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  at  the  very  nearest,  and  is  quite  independ- 
ent of  local  courts  and  processes. 

"  For  the  rest,  Dr.  Robinson  added  to  his  idealism  the  aforesaid 
Yankee  shrewdness,  and  to  his  trust  in  God  considerable  ingenuity  in 
raising  funds  to  keep  the  squatter  association  at  work.  He  wrote  well 
and  spoke  well.  He  was  thoroughly  in  earnest,  and  his  motives  seem 
to  me  above  any  -suspicion  of  personal  greed.  He  made  out  of  this 
squatter  movement  a  thing  of  real  power,  and  was,  for  the  time,  a  very 
dangerous  man. 

"Thus  led  and  moved,  the  squatter  association  might  easily  have 
become  the  centre  of  a  general  revolutionary  movement  of  the  sort 
above  described." 

The  reader  who  has  followed  this  narration  thus  far  can 
estimate  this  wild,  extravagant  language  at  its  true  value, 
without  further  comment.  It  is  plain  the  only  higher  law 
the  squatters  were  after  was  the  law  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  decision  of  a  legal  tribunal.  This  law  and  decision 
the  speculators  said  should  not  be  had,  hence  the  conflict. 
Mr.  Royce  says  the  Supreme  Court  was  a  long  way  off,  and 
to  wait  for  its  decision  would  work  great  hardship  to  the 
claimants  under  the  grant.  But  where  would  be  the  greater 
hardship?  This  grant  was  sufficiently  elastic  to  cover  all 
northern  California,  and  was  used  to  enable  a  few  men,  with 
quit-claim  or  other  deeds  from  Captain  Sutter,  to  levy  tribute 
upon  every  person  of  the  many  thousand  who  might  want 
to  settle  in  the  country.  If  the  claimants  could  not  wait  for 
a  legal  adjustment,  how  could  the  hordes  of  destitute  people 
wait  that  were  pouring  in  from  the  Eastern  States?  If  the 


INDICTMENT SLAVERY.  6 1 

title  should  prove  valid,  the  grantees  would  lose  nothing. 
Even  should  the  entire  tract  of  eleven  leagues  be  densely 
populated  by  thriving  cities,  it  would  only  enhance  the  value 
of  the  grant  a  thousand-fold,  while,  should  the  land  in  ques- 
tion be  not  covered  by  the  grant,  the  cormorants  would  have 
robbed  every  occupant  of  hard-earned  money,  never  to  be 
returned.  Thus  a  valid  claimant  would  lose  nothing  by 
waiting  for  the  courts,  even  the  highest  court,  while  the 
squatter  would  lose  all  he  might  pay  for  a  bogus  title  at  the 
hands  of  a  bogus  claimant  or  speculator. 

When  the  prisoner  had  partially  recovered,  he  and  his  two 
companions  were  taken  before  a  so-called  magistrate  and 
formally  committed  on  a  charge  of  murder  and  other  crimes. 
The  District  Court,  so-called,  soon  met  at  Sacramento,  and 
the  grand  jury  found  true  bills,  one  for  murder,  two  for 
assault  with  intent  to  kill,  and  one  for  conspiracy.  Soon 
after  the  finding  of  these  bills  the  three  prisoners  were  taken 
into  court  to  plead  to  the  indictment. 

One  of  the  attorneys  employed  to  defend  the  squatters 
was  Mr.  Tweed,  formerly  of  Florida.  As  the  time  ap- 
proached for  the  election  of  members  of  the  Legislature,  he 
paid  his  client  a  visit  on  the  prison  ship,  and  engaged  in  a 
political  discussion.  He  advocated  the  division  of  California 
into  two  States,  one  to  be  a  slave  State.  This,  he  argued, 
would  tend  to  allay  the  excitement  in  the  country  and  pre- 
vent any  attempt  at  a  dissolution  of  the  Union.  He  said 
there  was  a  movement  in  this  direction  in  California,  though 
not  as  yet  public.  He  desired  the  opinion  of  his  client  upon 
such  a  proposition.  His  client  answered  that  he  was  opposed 
to  slavery  from  conviction  of  its  injustice,  and  could  not 
favor  its  extension.  Xot  many  days  after  this,  the  attorney 
appeared  again.  This  time  he  reported  that  he  had  learned 
that  some  parties  proposed  to  support  the  prisoner  for  an 
election  to  the  Legislature,  and  he  advised  that  he  should 
decline  to  be  a  candidate.  This  he  did  as  attorney,  for  the 
good  of  his  client.  To  allow  his  name  to  be  used  in  that 


62  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

connection  would  prejudice  his  case  in  the  courts.  The 
prisoner  at  length  informed  his  counsel  that  he  had  nothing 
to  do  with  outside  matters,  and  if  the  courts  were  disposed 
to  hang  him  because  some  people  chose  to  vote  for  him, 
they  could  do  so.  He  was  not  inclined  to  interfere.  The 
prisoner,  by  putting  the  two  visits  together,  understood 
plainly  that  slavery  extension  to  southern  California  was  in 
issue,  and  that  his  attorney  opposed  his  being  a  candidate 
solely  because  of  his  opposition  to  slavery. 

After  this,  when  the  squatters  called  for  a  new  manifesto 
for  a  campaign  document,  the  prisoner  furnished  one  which 
made  a  clear  and  brief  statement  of  the  situation,  charging 
upon  the  speculators  murder  in  the  first  degree,  and  placing 
the  squatters  in  the  position  of  defenders  of  their  natural  and 
constitutional  rights.  This  manifesto  was  printed  in  the 
form  of  a  poster  and  distributed  throughout  the  county. 
Not  a  speech  was  made  in  this  canvass,  the  manifesto  told 
the  whole  story.  The  papers  denounced  the  manifesto  in 
the  wildest  and  bitterest  terms,  saying  that  "  these  men  who 
sleep  nightly  with  halters  about  their  necks  have  the  audacity 
to  charge  the  citizens  of  Sacramento  with  murder,"  etc.,  etc. 
Notwithstanding  this  bitter  opposition  of  the  press,  pro- 
slavery  men,  and  speculators,  Mr.  Royce,  in  the  Overland 
Monthly,  would  make  it  appear  that  this  election  went  by 
default  and  by  general  consent  of  all  parties.  On  page  246, 
he  says : 

"  As  nowadays  we  elect  a  displaced  university  professor  to  the  super- 
intendency  of  public  instruction  just  to  give  him  a  fair  chance  to  do 
good  to  the  university,  so  then  it  was  felt  by  some  good-natured 
folk  reasonable  to  elect  Dr.  Robinson  to  the  Legislature,  not  because 
people  believed  wholly  in  his  ideas,  but  because  his  services  merited 
attention.  At  all  events,  in  a  district  of  Sacramento  County.  Dr. 
Robinson's  friends  managed,  with  the  connivance  of  certain  optimists, 
to  give  him  a  seat  in  the  Assembly,  that  late  '  advisory'  body,  whose 
'  rules,'  before  the  admission  of  the  State,  he  had  so  ardently  despised. 
The  State  was  admitted  now,  and  Dr.  Robinson  cheerfully  undertook 
his  share  of  legislation." 


LEGISLATIVE    ACTION.  63 

Soon  after  his  election  the  prisoner  was  admitted  to  bail, 
and  became  one  of  the  editors  of  a  new  paper  called  the 
Settlers'  and  Miners'  Tribune.  He  was  thus  employed  till 
the  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  when  he  took  his  seat  in  that 
body.  Here  came  to  the  front  the  slavery  extension  ques- 
tion. The  Whigs  had  nominated  for  Senator,  in  place  of 
Fremont,  who  drew  the  short  term,  T.  Butler  King,  of 
Georgia,  and  the  Democrats  had  nominated  Judge  Heyden- 
felt,  of  Alabama,  both  in  favor  of  a  division  of  California. 
Fremont  alone  of  the  candidates  was  opposed  to  this  divis- 
ion, and,  although  the  proprietor  of  a  large  land  grant,  the 
squatter  supported  him.  Some  twelve  to  fifteen  others 
joined  him,  and  holding  the  balance  between  the  Whigs  and 
Democrats,  defeated  the  election  for  that  session.  The  anti- 
slavery  squatters  approved  of  the  course  taken,  while  a  few 
pro-slavery  squatters  were  offended.  At  the  next  session  the 
anti-slavery  sentiment  was  so  strong  as  to  elect  a  Northern 
man,  Mr.  Weller  from  Ohio,  and  the  question  was  effectually 
disposed  of. 

A  law  was  passed  at  this  session  of  the  Legislature  which 
quieted  all  illegal  proceedings  in  land  controversies,  and  all 
parties  had  to  await  the  decision  of  the  proper  tribunals.  A 
change  of  venue  was  had  in  the  squatter  cases  to  Benicia, 
but,  after  the  session  of  the  Legislature,  the  prisoners  were 
discharged  for  want  of  prosecution.  The  prosecuting  attor- 
ney would  neither  proceed  with  the  trial  nor  enter  a  nolle, 
and  the  court  turned  the  prisoners  loose. 

The  Overland  Monthly,  pages  245  and  246  says: 

"  Dr.  Robinson,  indeed,  was  in  little  danger  from  his  indictments 
when  once  the  heat  of  battle  had  cooled.  He  was  felt  to  be  a  man  of 
mark  ;  the  popular  ends  had  been  gained  in  his  defeat ;  the  legal  evidence 
against  him  was  like  the  chips  of  drift-wood  in  a  little  eddy  of  this 
changing  torrent  of  California  life.  With  its  little  horde  of  drift,  the 
eddy  soon  vanished  in  the  immeasurable  flood.  After  a  change  of  venue 
to  a  bay  county,  and  after  a  few  months'  postponement,  the  cloud  of 
indictments  melted  away  like  the  last  cloud  flake  of  our  rainy  season. 
Nolle  pros,  was  entered  and  the  hero  was  free." 


64  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

From  the  squatters'  standpoint,  Dr.  Robinson,  though 
wounded,  was  not  beaten.  The  squatters  gained  their  cause. 
Neither  was  the  failure  to  prosecute  because  of  a  lack  of 
evidence.  That  was  abundant,  but,  unfortunately  for  the 
speculators,  it  would  convict  them  instead  of  Robinson. 
The  manifesto  before  election  distinctly  indicted  them  for 
murder,  and  gave  the  evidence.  The  papers  admitted  the 
indictment,  and  the  election  of  Robinson  was  the  verdict  of 
Sacramento  County  of  guilty  as  charged.  The  Legislature 
while  in  session  volunteered,  while  the  prisoner  was  sick  and 
without  his  knowledge,  to  pass  a  joint  resolution  through 
both  houses  instructing  the  prosecuting  attorney  to  nolle  the 
case,  to  be  vetoed,  however,  by  the  brave  Lieutenant  and 
Acting  Governor  McDougal,  who  fled  down  the  river  when 
the  mayor  was  shot,  and  went  to  bed  sick  when  the  sheriff 
was  killed.  This  joint  resolution  was  a  verdict  by  the  whole 
State  against  the  speculators  of  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree.  Of  course,  under  such  circumstances,  they  would 
be  very  glad  if  not  only  the  evidence  but  the  recollection  of 
the  squatter  riots,  would  float  "like  drift-wood  in  a  little 
eddy  "  to  oblivion. 

When  the  speculators  found  they  could  no  longer  settle  a 
grant  to  eleven  leagues  of  land  in  a  justice's  court,  a  case 
was  brought  in  a  court  that  had  jurisdiction  in  such  matters, 
which  finally  reached  the  Supreme  Court,  the  "  higher  law  " 
of  the  squatters.  The  disposition  made  of  Sutler's  grant  by 
this  court  can  be  found  in  the  Supreme  Court  reports.  What 
reasoning  was  adopted  in  order  to  locate  a  grant  of  land 
bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Feather  River  so  as  to  cover 
the  town  of  Sacramento,  it  is  not  easy  to  understand.  It  is 
evident  that  there  was  some  difficulty  in  the  case,  for  Mr. 
Royce  says,  on  page  227,  "To  arrange  with  justice  the  final 
survey  of  his  Alvarado  grant  proved  in  later  years  one  of  the 
most  perplexing  problems  of  the  United  States  District  and 
Supreme  Courts."  It  must  have  been  difficult  to  locate  a 
grant  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Three  Peaks,  on  the  east 


SUPREME  COURT SUTTER.  65 

by  Feather  River,  on  the  south  by  the  38°  49'  32"  parallel 
of  latitude,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Sacramento  River,  by 
boundaries  given  in  Captain  Sutter's  quit-claim  deeds  for 
lands  in  and  about  Sacramento.  A  layman  cannot  under- 
stand what  business  the  court  had  with  any  boundaries 
except  such  as  were  given  by  Alvarado.  If  the  grant  had 
boundaries,  natural,  plain,  and  unmistakable,  Sutter's  deeds 
could  not  change  them ;  but  if  it  had  no  such  boundaries  it 
was  null  and  void.  Many  things  in  court  decisions  are  too 
high  for  common  people,  and  past  finding  out  by  them. 

And  poor  old  Captain  Sutter,  in  whose  name  and  for 
whose  pretended  benefit  the  suit  was  brought  and  carried  to 
the  Supreme  Court,  what  became  of  his  rights,  his  profits, 
and  himself?  Finding  he  was  being  defrauded  by  these 
claimants  under  his  grant,  he  employed  counsel  to  defeat 
them  in  despoiling  him  of  his  rightful  possessions  through 
the  agency  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

A  fugitive  newspaper  clipping  describes  his  condition, 
when  the  speculators  had  done  with  him,  as  follows : 

"  A  sad  story  is  that  of  General  Sutter,  a  man  noted  for  benevolence, 
but  now  reduced  to  poverty.  The  first  gold  found  in  California  was. 
discovered  in  the  race  of  his  mill,  and  soon  thousands  of  squatters  had 
'  prospected '  upon  his  possessions.  With  a  hand  open  as  the  day  to 
melting  charity,  he  relieved  the  wants  of  all.  We  are  told  that  the 
aged  patriarch,  guileless  as  a  child,  and  totally  wanting  in  commercial 
tact,  unsuspectingly  confided  his  secrets,  his  business,  even  his  property, 
to  any  one  who  by  an  affectation  of  interest,  or  hypocritical  show  of 
assistance,  offered  himself  to  his  friendship.  One  after  another  his 
broad  acres  slipped  from  his  grasp ;  he  placed  his  affairs  in  the  hands 
of  an  agent  who  deceived,  deluded,  and  robbed  him  of  hard  dollars ; 
his  property  dwindled  down  to  merely  a  tithe  of  what  it  had  been,  and 
the  old  man's  sorrows  were  heavy  upon  him.  In  this  condition  he  put 
a  farm,  his  sole  remaining  support,  into  the  hands  of  his  son,  who 
proved  worse  even  than  strangers,  and  robbed  him  of  his  last  posses- 
sion. He  is  now  reduced  to  all  but  begging,  but  waiting  the  decision 
of  some  commissions  in  respect  to  a  land  claim." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SITUATION  IN  THE  EAST. ELI  THAYER  AND  HIS  ASSOCIATES. 

SETTLEMENT    OF    LAWRENCE. CLAIM    CONTROVERSIES. 

IN  the  winter  and  spring  of  1854,  while  the  Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill  was  pending  in  Congress,  Massachusetts  espe- 
cially was  greatly  moved.  The  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question  had  disturbed  the  people,  including  churches  and 
political  parties,  for  several  years,  till  the  old  order  of  things 
had  been  nearly  broken  up.  Come-outers  were  distracting 
the  churches,  and  Know-Nothings  and  Free-Soilrrs  were 
playing  havoc  with  political  parties.  Hunker  Whigs  and 
Bourbon  Democrats  seemed  to  be  the  only  land-marks  re- 
maining of  the  olden  time,  and  now  their  peace  was  greatly- 
endangered.  If  the  sacred  compromises  were  to  go  down 
before  the  advance  of  the  slave  power,  by  the  votes  of  mem- 
bers of  their  own  parties,  what  hope  would  there  be  for  such 
parties  in  Massachusetts  in  the  future  ?  The  no-Union  abo- 
litionists were  in  high  feather,  as  their  claim  of  no  hope  for 
the  slave  within  the  Union  seemed  about  to  be  vindicated. 
But,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  excitement  and  confusion,  a  ray 
of  hope  appeared.  One  man  had  the  temerity  to  prophesy 
that  what  was  intended  for  evil  should  result  in  good ;  that 
the  legislation  which  was  intended  to  extend  slavery  indefi- 
nitely should  be  used  to  abolish  that  institution  absolutely. 
He  began  to  preach  his  new  gospel,  and  all  eyes  were  turned 
upon  him.  At  first  all  seemed  incredulous.  Who  was  this 
man  that  hoped  to  stem  the  tide  of  slavery,  to  change  the 
current  of  events,  and  to  abolish  that  great  iniquity  by  the 
very  machinery  that  had  been  invented  to  make  it  perpetual 


ELI    THAVER    AND    HIS    ASSOCIATES.  67 

and  universal.  The  president  of  the  first  squatters'  associa- 
tion in  California  was  now  returned  to  Massachusetts.  He 
had  traversed  the  goodly  land  about  to  be  blighted,  and 
earnestly  hoped  that  it  might  be  saved  to  freedom.  He  had 
talked  and  written  about  its  good  qualities,  and  was  watch- 
ing eagerly  for  information  about  this  daring  man — this 
David  who  seemed  ready  to  challenge  single-handed  the 
Goliath  of  slavery.  At  length,  to  satisfy  himself  fully,  to 
see  of  what  material  this  man  was  made,  whether  he  was  a 
mere  agitator,  or  a  man  who  had  convictions  for  which  he 
would  risk  his  life  if  necessary,  the  squatter  attended  one  of 
his  Boston  meetings.  Taking  a  back  seat,  the  stranger  paid 
the  closest  attention  to  the  proceedings,  and  reached  the 
conclusion  that  this  was  no  counterfeit,  but  a  true  man  who 
would  meet  any  crisis  without  flinching.  Evidently,  here 
was  a  crusader  who  had  thoroughly  digested  his  plan,  and 
had  implicit  confidence  both  in  himself  and  in  his  scheme. 
No  man  could  listen  to  him  without  partaking  of  his  spirit, 
neither  could  any  person,  after  listening,  entertain  any  doubts 
of  the  feasibility  of  his  plan,  or  of  his  ability  to  put  it  in  suc- 
cessful operation.  This  man,  of  course,  was  Eli  Thayer; 
for  there  was  but  one  such  in  the  nation.  When,  therefore, 
Mr.  Thayer,  with  Amos  A.  Lawrence  and  J.  M.  S.  Williams, 
trustees,  in  June,  1854,  sent  for  the  writer  to  meet  them  at 
Boston  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  this  plan  into  execution, 
he  could  not  refuse  any  duty  that  might  be  assigned  him. 
No  other  evidence  was  needed  of  the  inspiration  of  Mr. 
Thayer  than  the  fact  that  he  could  impart  his  inspiration  to 
other  people  of  all  classes  and  conditions.  At  one  of  his 
meetings  J.  M.  S.  Williams  became  inspired  and  subscribed 
$10,000  for  the  cause,  and  at  another  time  Charles  Francis 
Adams  subscribed  $25,000.  Also  W.  M.  Evarts  was  taken 
with  the  infection  and  subscribed  one-fourth  of  all  he  was 
worth,  or  $1000.  Mr.  Thayer  enlisted  in  his  work  the  most 
conservative  as  well  as  the  most  radical,  the  richest  and  the 
poorest,  the  highest  and  lowest.  Among  those  his  inspiration 


68  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

infected  was  Amos  A.  Lawrence.  Mr.  Lawrence  was  a  con- 
servative of  the  conservatives,  a  Hunker,  as  he  chose  to  call 
himself,  yet  no  man  had  greater  enthusiasm  or  worked  more 
persistently  and  earnestly  than  he  from  first  to  last.  His  great 
wealth,  and  greater  influence,  were  thrown  into  the  cause 
without  reserve.  No  man  in  the  nation  stood  higher  finan- 
cially, socially,  or  as  a  philanthropist,  and  with  his  name 
associated  with  the  movement  as  treasurer,  no  man,  however 
conservative,  was  afraid  to  endorse  and  aid  the  enterprise. 
Securing  such  men  as  Mr.  Lawrence,  Mr.  Williams,  Dr. 
Cabot,  Rev.  Mr.  Hale,  and  others  like  them,  Mr.  Thayer  could 
well  afford  to  entrust  the  finances  and  details  to  them,  while 
he  preached  the  crusade  among  the  people,  and  imbued  the 
churches,  the  mechanics,  the  farmers,  and  laborers  with  his 
spirit,  till  men  should  be  found  to  take  possession  of  the  land 
in  conflict — men  of  conviction,  and  men  who  would  die,  if 
need  be,  in  defense  of  their  convictions. 

Henry  Wilson  says  of  Mr.  Thayer's  work,  in  his  "  Rise 
and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power,"  Vol.  II.,  page  465,  as  follows : 

"  To  this  work  Mr.  Thayer  devoted  himself  with  tireless 
energy  and  unceasing  effort.  Fully  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  the  free  States  had  the  power  to  secure  in  this  way 
freedom  to  the  Territories,  he  travelled  sixty  thousand  miles, 
and  made  hundreds  of  speeches  enunciating  these  views,  and 
calling  upon  the  people  to  join  in  this  grand  crusade." 

The  effect  of  Mr.  Thayer's  speeches  may  be  learned  from 
a  report  of  his  speech  at  Cambridge,  as  found  in  the  Chron- 
icle of  November  22,  1856,  as  follows: 

"  After  Professor  Hedrick's  remarks,  it  was  a  relief  when  the  broad, 
calm  brow  of  Mr.  Thayer  loomed  up  before  us.  We  were  requested 
not  to  report  his  speech,  and  shall  therefore  only  speak  of  it  in  general 
terms.  It  was  more  even  than  we  had  hoped  for,  and,  whether  consid- 
ered as  a  speech  or  as  an  argument,  was  a  powerful  effort.  Such  deep 
penetration  into  and  entire  grasp  of  his  subject ;  such  an  aptness  of 
expression,  and  illustration,  we  seldom  find.  The  views  he  took  have 
not  been  presented  by  the  press  or  public  speakers — they  are  new  to 
the  people ;  but  unquestionably  sound,  as  they  are  hopeful  to  freedom ; 


THE    EMIGRANT    AID    COMPANY.  69 

and  as  he  presented  them  we  cannot  doubt  that  they  were  convincing 
to  his  audience." 

On  arriving  in  Boston,  in  answer  to  the  call  of  the  trustees, 
Dr.  Robinson  found  them  in  the  office  of  the  Emigrant  Aid 
Company,  with  Dr.  T.  H.  Webb,  their  very  efficient  secre- 
tary. Here  the  whole  question  of  emigration  to  Kansas  was 
discussed,  ending  with  a  carte  blanche  commission  to  the 
Doctor  to  visit  the  Territory  and  arrange  for  its  settlement. 
Mr.  Lawrence  advanced  the  money  for  the  expenses  of  the 
journey  from  his  personal  funds,  and  gave  a  letter  of  credit 
on  a  merchant  of  St.  Louis  for  $200.  It  was  arranged  that 
a  young  lawyer  of  Holyoke,  C.  H.  Branscomb,  should  join 
Dr.  Robinson  at  Springfield  and  accompany  him.  Instead 
of  following  the  route  of  the  Boston  party  on  their  trip  to 
California  in  1849,  by  canal  and  steamboat,  the  route  was 
taken  through  Chicago  to  St.  Louis.  Here  a  steamer  was 
taken  for  Kansas  City.  As  the  boat  passed  Jefferson  City, 
on  the  4th  of  July,  it  took  on  board  several  men  of  note  in 
political  circles,  as  the  Legislature  had  adjourned  for  the 
holiday.  These  men  possessed  many  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  speculators  of  Sacramento  in  1849  and  1850,  and 
their  threats  and  swagger  about  driving  Northern  men  from 
Kansas  had  a  familiar  sound  to  one  person,  who  was  a  list- 
ener rather  than  a  talker.  The  Emigrant  Aid  Company  re- 
ceived a  large  share  of  their  attention,  not  excepting  Eli 
Thayer,  for  whose  head  a  liberal  reward  would  be  given. 
It  was  fully  proclaimed  that  no  anti-slavery  man  should  be 
permitted  to  settle  in  the  Territory,  and  all  Northern  men 
were  anti-slavery,  or  abolitionists.  On  landing  at  Kansas 
City,  it  was  found  to  be  greatly  improved  since  the  spring  of 
1849.  Some  substantial  buildings  had  been  erected  and  the 
population  greatly  increased.  Here  were  found,  beside  the 
noisy  pro-slavery  advocates,  several  quiet,  civil,  and  accom- 
modating business  men.  The  Gillis  House  was  a  substantial 
brick  structure,  in  charge  of  Gaius  Jenkins,  a  most  excellent 
man  and  obliging  landlord.  Also,  here  were  Mr.  Conant,  a 


70  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

merchant  of  the  highest  merit,  and  Mr.  Riddlesbarger  with 
his  commodious  warehouse.  All  these  gentlemen  welcomed 
Free-State  men  with  as  much  cordiality  as  pro-slavery,  and 
some  of.  them  with  more.  One  of  the  most  genial  and  pub- 
lic-spirited citizens  to  be  found  in  any  community  was  Dr. 
Lykins,  who  was  familiar  with  the  situation,  within  and  with- 
out the  Territory,  with  the  Indian  tribes  and  reservations,  as 
well  as  with  the  lands  opened  to  settlement  by  Indian  treaties. 
Mr.  Gillis  and  Dr.  Troost  were  also  prominent  figures  in  the 
community,  and  most  agreeable  gentlemen.  Knowing  that 
Kansas  City  was  likely  to  become  the  gateway  to  the  vast 
regions  beyond,  and  that  emigrants  from  the  East  must  land 
at  this  point,  terms  were  procured  for  the  purchase  of  the 
Gillis  House  and  of  a  tract  of  land  where  later  was  built  the 
Union  Depot.  The  hotel  was  purchased  by  the  company, 
but  the  land  declined.  Mr.  Thayer  was  favorable  to  this 
purchase,  as  he  would  have  the  enterprise  self-supporting, 
but  other  members  were  in  the  movement  purely  from 
motives  of  patriotism  and  philanthropy.  Had  this  land  been 
purchased,  as  recommended  by  the  agent,  its  value  would 
now  be  beyond  computation.  At  this  time  treaties  had  been 
made  with  the  Delaware  tribe  of  Indians  for  disposing  of 
some  of  their  lands,  but  they  were  to  be  sold  to  the  highest 
bidder,  and  were  not  to  be  opened  for  pre-emption.  The 
Shawnee  treaty,  not  yet  complete,  would  open  to  pre-emp- 
tion their  lands  west  of  the  diminished  reservation,  which 
extended  about  thirty  miles  west  of  the  Missouri  State  line, 
though  these  had  not  yet  been  surveyed.  These  lands,  lying 
along  the  Kansas  River  on  the  south  side,  were  the  most 
eligible  for  settlement  outside  of  Indian  reservations.  To 
learn  the  situation  definitely,  Branscomb  and  Robinson  sep- 
arated at  Kansas  City,  the  first  going  up  the  Kansas  River 
to  Fort  Riley,  and  the  other  up  the  Missouri  to  Fort  Leaven- 
worth.  Although  the  lands  on  the  Missouri  were  not  open 
to  pre-emption,  some  surveyors  were  found  at  work  laying 
off  a  town  at  the  present  site  of  Leavenworth  City.  On  re- 


FIRST    PARTY    OF    EMIGRANTS.  71 

turning  to  Kansas  City,  Robinson  found  a  letter  informing 
him  that  the  first  party  of  emigrants  from  Boston  was  about 
to  start  for  Kansas,  and  directing  him  to  meet  it  at  St.  Louis, 
which  he  did.  A  letter  was  given  to  him  directing  him  to 
return  to  Boston  as  soon  as  this  party  should  be  taken  to  the 
Territory.  As  Mr.  Branscomb  would  return  to  Kansas  City 
from  his  trip  to  Fort  Riley  before  the  party  could  reach  that 
point,  a  letter  was  forwarded  to  him  to  look  after  the  emi- 
grants, and  Robinson  started  East  to  obey  the  summons. 
When  the  party  arrived  at  Kansas  City  it  met  not  only  Mr. 
Branscomb,  but  Colonel  Blood,  of  Wisconsin,  who  had  been 
employed  by  Mr.  Lawrence  to  visit  the  Territory.  He  had 
much  experience  in  new  settlements  and  understood  the  pre- 
emption laws.  His  account  of  the  arrival  and  settlement  of 
this  party  is  given  in  the  Lawrence  Journal  of  January  1 2, 
1891,  as  follows : 

"In  August  of  that  year  (1854),  when  the  first  party  of 
Eastern  immigrants  arrived  at  Kansas  City,  Mr.  Branscomb 
and  I  were  both  there.  We  had  considerable  consultation 
about  where  they  should  locate.  Mr.  Branscomb  appeared 
very  anxious  that  they  should  settle  upon  the  Wyandotte 
reservation.  In  fact,  he  advocated  that  idea  so  earnestly 
that  he  induced  a  committee,  representing  the  party  of  set- 
tlers, to  go  the  next  day  with  us  to  see  Abelard  Guthrie,  '  a 
squaw  man,'  who  offered  his  protection  and  assistance,  and 
proposed  to  allow  us  to  lay  out  a  town,  and  make  a  landing 
on  the  Missouri  River.  But  as  that  country  was  then  an 
Indian  reservation,  no  white  men  were  allowed  to  settle  or 
reside  there  without  permission  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment ;  the  committee  concluded  that  the  scheme  was  imprac- 
ticable. I  think  the  committee  that  went  with  us  over  into 
the  Wyandotte  country  was  composed  of  D.  R.  Anthony, 
now  of  Leavenworth,  Samuel  F.  Tappan,  now  residing  at 
Washington,  and  A.  H.  Mallory,  now  at  Leadville,  Colorado, 
or  Dr.  Harrington.  As  I  had  obtained  information  that 
the  Shawnee  Indians  had  ceded  their  reservation  south  of 


72  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  Kansas  River,  except  a  tract  extending  thirty  miles  west 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  that  the  portion  ceded  was 
suitable  for  settlement,  and  the  most  available,  the  party  de- 
cided to  come  up  here.  Mr.  Branscomb  came  with  them. 
I  also  came  along  on  horseback,  in  company  with  a  gentle- 
man by  the  name  of  Cobb.  The  night  before  arriving  here 
the  party  went  into  camp  at  the  Blue  Jacket  crossing  of  the 
Wakarusa.  Mr.  Cobb  and  I  stopped  for  the  night  at  Dr. 
Still's,  a  short  distance  east  of  the  crossing.  The  next  morn- 
ing I  rode  to  the  top  of  Blue  Mound,  from  there  crossing 
the  Wakarusa  at  Blanton's  Ford,  arrived  some  time  in  the 
forenoon  on  the  hill  where  the  University  now  stands,  find- 
ing the  party  there  pitching  their  tents  and  unloading  their 
wagons.  I  met  Mr.  Branscomb  there  that  day.  He  in- 
formed me  that  he  had  bought  a  claim  of  a  Mr.  Stearns,  and 
had  agreed  to  pay  him  $500  for  it,  and  that  Mr.  Wade  had 
a  claim  some  distance  up  the  river  that  he  offered  to  sell  for 
$1000,  and  he,  Mr.  Branscomb,  advised  and  urged  me  to 
buy  it.  I  replied  that  I  regarded  the  buying  of  claims  at 
that  time  as  impolitic.  Soon  after,  I  think  the  next  day,  Mr. 
Branscomb  left  here  for  the  East,  and  did  not  return  here 
that  year,  nor  for  a  long  time  after.  *  *  *  1  was  in 
Kansas  City  when  the  second  party  arrived  there  in  Septem- 
ber, in  charge  of  Charles  Robinson  and  S.  C.  Pomeroy. 
After  consultation,  they  decided  to  come  up  here.  On  arriv- 
ing here,  we  found  a  part  of  the  first  party  still  living  in  tents 
on  the  hill.  Most  of  them  that  remained  here  had  taken 
farm  claims  in  the  vicinity.  We  came  down  to  the  river, 
and  after  viewing  the  location,  they  decided  to  locate  and 
lay  out  the  town.  Governor  Robinson  pitched  his  tent  near 
the  bank  of  the  river,  near  where  the  jail  now  stands.  Soon 
after  a  survey  of  the  town  was  made,  a  town  company  or  as- 
sociation was  organized,  and  the  town  given  a  name,  Law- 
rence. I  believe  the  foregoing  to  be  a  correct  statement  of 
events  that  occurred  relating  to  the  selection  of  the  town 
site.  Governor  Robinson  and  some  one  or  two  hundred 


UNFAVORABLE    PUBLIC    SENTIMENT.  73 

others  who  came  with  him  remained  here  and  engaged  in 
the  erection  of  buildings,  founding  the  city." 

With  all  the  bluster  and  demonstrations  from  the  South, 
and  all  the  disadvantages  under  which  the  Free-State  men 
would  be  placed,  it  required  men  of  no  little  firmness  to  en- 
list as  pioneers  in  the  crusade.  In  a  paper  read  by  me  be- 
fore the  "  Old  Settlers'  "  meeting  at  Emporia,  September  18, 
1889,  this  reference  to  them  is  made: 

"  Many  looked  upon  Eli  Thayer  as  mad,  and  his  project 
as  madness.  Who  could  be  found  to  go  to  Kansas  with  the 
certainty  of  meeting  a  hostile  greeting  of  revolvers,  bowie- 
knives,  and  all  the  desperadoes  of  the  border  ?  But  the  in- 
spired prophet,  who  clearly  saw  the  end  from  the  beginning, 
had  no  doubts  or  misgivings,  and  obstacles  which  would  have 
disheartened  another  man,  were  only  incentives  to  greater 
efforts  and  more  implicit  faith  in  his  plan.  At  length,  after 
great  labor,  a  party  of  twenty-nine  men,  who  were  willing  to 
take  their  lives  in  their  hands,  went  to  Kansas  in  July,  1854. 
These  men  were  regarded  with  as  much  interest  as  would  be 
a  like  number  of  gladiators  about  to  enter  into  deadly  con- 
flict with  wild  beasts,  or  with  each  other.  Hundreds  of  people 
gathered  to  bid  them  a  final  farewell,  and  ovations  greeted 
them  at  all  principal  points  between  Boston  and  Chicago. 
But  their  example  was  contagious,  and,  as  they  were  not 
slaughtered  on  their  arrival  in  Kansas,  other  parties  soon  fol- 
lowed, as  well  as  men  without  parties,  from  all  the  Northern 
States,." 

The  agitation  relative  to  taking  possession  of  Kansas  was 
by  no  means  confined  to  the  East.  It  extended  to  every 
State  in  the  Union  with  more  or  less  violence.  Neither  were 
the  members  of  the  first  Eastern  party  the  first  Free-State 
men  to  enter  upon  the  field  of  battle.  As  before  stated, 
such  men  as  S.  N.  Wood,  J.  A.Wakefield,  Rev.  Mr.  Ferril,  and 
others  were  on  the  ground  when  this  party  reached  its  des- 
tination, but  no  men  or  party  of  men  had  attracted  so  much 
attention,  either  at  the  North  or  at  the  South,  and  they  were 


74  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  focus  of  all  eyes  watching  the  struggle  of  the  giants,  free- 
dom and  slavery,  about  to  commence  on  Kansas  soil.  The 
names  of  this  party  will  go  down  the  ages  as  the  names  of 
men  who  dared  begin  a  conflict  against  great  odds.  To 
single  out  individuals  would  seem  invidious.  Few  are  still 
living.  D.  R.  Anthony,  brother  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  who 
came  with  the  party  but  returned  East  till  1857,  is  a  fit 
specimen  of  the  material  required  to  beat  back  the  black 
waves  of  slavery  from  Kansas.  He  was  and  is  and  ever 
will  be  irrepressible.  No  cause  espoused  by  him  from  con- 
viction will  be  relinquished  while  his  life  remains.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  such  men  as  S.  F.  Tappan,  Ferdinand  Fuller, 
J.  F.  Morgan,  G.  W.  Goss,  and,  in  short,  of  the  whole  party. 
S.  N.  Wood  also,  from  Ohio,  who  preceded  the  party,  was 
a  man  without  fear.  Colonel  D.  R.  Anthony,  in  introducing 
Colonel  Wood  at  the  quarter-centennial  celebration,  said : 

"  Thirty  years  ago  I  rode  from  Lawrence  to  Kansas  City 
with  a  gentleman  who  is  now  in  this  house.  At  Westport 
we  stopped  at  what  might  now  be  called  a  saloon,  and  took 
a  drink — of  water — and  watered  our  horses.  On  the  wall 
of  this  saloon  was  a  poster,  offering  $1000  reward  for  Eli 
Thayer,  the  founder  of  the  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Com- 
pany, dead  or  alive.  We  asked  what  they  would  do  with 
Eli  Thayer  if  they  had  him ;  the  reply  was  that  he  would  be 
hanged.  This  gentleman  who  was  with  me  stepped  up  and 
said :  '  I  am  Eli  Thayer.  Proceed  to  hang.'  He  was  not 
hanged,  but  I  have  the  honor  this  evening  of  introducing  him 
to  you.  He  was  one  of  the  truest  of  the  pioneers  in  the 
great  struggle.  His  name  is  a  household  word ;  he  is  better 
known  as  '  Sam  Wood.'  " 

The  second  party  sent  out  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Emigrant  Aid  Company  left  Boston  August  29,  1854,  arriv- 
ing at  Kansas  City  September  6th,  and  was  accompanied  by 
S.  C.  Pomeroy,  financial  agent,  and  Charles  Robinson,  resi- 
dent agent,  of  the  company.  This  party  went  to  Lawrence, 
formed  a  union  with  the  first  party,  and  began  the  settlement 


SETTLEMENTS.  75 

of  the  town,  which  was  surveyed  and  platted  by  A.  D.  Searl, 
under  the  direction  of  a  committee  of  which  Robinson  was 
chairman.  Xo  sooner  had  definite  arrangements  been  made 
for  a  permanent  settlement  at  Lawrence  than  the  conflict 
began  in  earnest.  The  first  act  in  the  drama  was  to  be  the 
ejectment  of  all  Free-State  men  on  a  pretense  of  prior  claims 
to  the  land.  The  plot  of  this  play  was  the  same  as  of  that 
at  Sacramento,  under  Sutler's  grant,  with  only  a  change  of 
scenery.  As  several  of  the  Free-State  settlers  at  Lawrence 
had  more  or  less  prominent  parts  in  that  play,  they  were  at 
home  in  this. 

On  or  before  the  passage  of  the  bill  opening  the  Territory 
to  settlement,  pro-slavery  men  from  Missouri  rushed  over 
the  line,  marked  trees,  and  drove  stakes  in  every  direction. 
Xo  claim  could  be  taken  by  a  Free-State  man  to  which  a 
pro-slavery  man  could  not  be  found  to  assert  a  prior  claim. 
It  was  the  Sacramento  game  over  again,  with  squatter's 
title  instead  of  Sutler's  deeds.  Xeither  left  an  acre  of  un- 
claimed land  for  the  bona  fide  settler.  Colonel  S.  N. 
Wood,  in  his  quarter-centennial  speech  at  Topeka,  said : 
"  No  sooner  was  Kansas  opened  to  settlement  than  the 
minions  of  the  slave  power  swarmed  across  the  border,  seem- 
ingly determined  to  occupy  the  whole  Territory.  Leaven- 
worth,  Atchison,  Kickapoo,  Iowa  Point,  Doniphan,  and 
other  places  were  occupied.  These  were  the  pioneers  of 
the  slave  power." 

Andreas,  in  his  history,  page  83,  says:  "True  influx  of 
Missourians  into  Kansas  occurred  immediately  after  the 
passage  of  the  territorial  act ;  indeed,  prior  to  its  final  pas- 
sage the  best  of  the  lands  ceded  by  the  tribes  had  been  spot- 
"ted  and  marked  for  pre-emption  by  residents  of  Missouri. 
This  occupation  was  made  with  undue  haste,  and  against 
the  protests  of  the  Indians  whose  time  of  occupancy  under 
the  treaties  was  yet  unexpired.  *  *  *  The  ubiquitous  citi- 
zens, having  homes  in  Missouri  and  squatter's  claims  in  the 
adjoining  territory,  promptly  organized  defensively  against 


•j6  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  possible  encroachments  of  the  expected  and  hated  emi- 
grants from  the  North." 

Colonel  Wood,  in  his  speech  at  Topeka,  said : 

"  The  pro-slavery  men  from  Missouri  had  met  in  Kansas  and 
adopted  a  code  of  squatter  laws,  and  the  whole  Territory  seemed  .staked 
into  claims.  They  had  a  register  of  claims,  with  an  office  at  \Vestport, 
Missouri.  One  law  of  this  remarkable  code  provided  that  Nebraska 
was  for  the  North  and  Kansas  for  the  South.  One  provision  w:is, 
that  every  white-livered  abolitionist  who  dared  to  set  foot  in  Kansas 
should  be  hung ;  and,  that  there  might  be  no  mistake,  they  added, 
'  Every  man  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  is  an  abolitionist.'  " 

Andreas  gives  resolutions  of  squatter  conventions  and 
newspaper  extracts  on  page  83,  some  of  which  follow.  At 
a  meeting  at  Salt  Creek  Valley  it  was  resolved : 

"  That  we  recognize  the  institution  of  Slavery  as  a/wars  t\\'istinj  j>t 
this  Territory,  and  recommend  slave-holders  to  introduce  their  property 
as  early  as  possible. 

"  That  we  will  afford  protection  to  no  abolitionists  as  settlers  of 
Kansas  Territory." 

The  Democratic  Platform,  Liberty,  Missouri,  June  8,  1854, 
says: 

"  We  learn  from  a  gentleman  lately  from  the  Territory  of  Kansas 
that  a  great  many  Missourians  have  already  set  their  pegs  in  that 
country,  and  are  making  arrangements  to  '  darken  the  atmosphere ' 
with  their  negroes.  This  is  right.  Let  every  man  that  owns  :i  •• 
go  there  and  settle,  and  our  Northern  brethren  will  be  compelled  to 
hunt  further  north  for  a  location." 

The  Platte  Argus,  Missouri,  has  the  following : 

"  Mormons — We  are  advised  that  the  abolition  societies  of  New 
England  are  shipping  their  tools,  at  the  public  expense,  us  Mormons, 
ostensibly  for  Salt  Lake,  but  that  it  is  the  real  Jt-si^n  <>f  these  worthies 
to  stop  in  Kansas  Territory  for  the  purpose  of  voting  to  establish  a 
free  State  and  an  underground  railroad.  We  say,  let  the  Mormons  go 
their  way  in  peace  to  Utah,  but  if  they  remain  in  Kansas  to  inflict  the 
blighting  curse  of  their  principles  upon  the  future  policy  of  the  country 
— let  a  Mormon  war  be  declared  forthwith. 

"Citizens  of  the  West,  of  the  South,  and  Illinois!  stake  out  your 
claims,  and  woe  be  to  the  abolitionist  or  Mormon  who  shall  intrude 


SETTLERS'    ASSOCIATIONS.  77 

upon  it,  or  come  within  reach  of  your  long  and  true  rifles,  or  within 
foint-blank  shot  of  your  rci'oh't-rs.  Keep  a  sharp  lookout  lest  some 
dark  night  you  shall  see  the  flames  curling  from  your  houses  or  the 
midnight  philanthropist  hurrying  off  your  faithful  servant." 

At  a  meeting  held  in  Independence,  Missouri,  the  senti- 
ment of  the  people  was  expressed  as  follows : 

"Resolved,  That  we,  without  distinction  of  party,  desire  to  act  in 
accordance  with  what  is  right  and  due,  not  only  to  interests  of  the 
South,  but  likewise  to  interests  of  the  North,  and  though  knowing  that 
the  North,  through  certain  fanatics,  has  endeavored  to  dictate  to  the 
South,  we  yet  wish  to  meet  them  as  brothers  and  friends,  and  only  ask 
our  rights  as  compromise,  viz.  : 

"That  we,  the  South,  be  permitted  peaceably  to  possess  Kansas, 
while  the  North,  on  the  same  privilege,  be  permitted  to  possess 
Nebraska  Territory." 

In  some  instances  the  organization  of  Northern  emigra- 
tion was  pleaded  as  an  excuse  for  such  action.  But  at  no  time 
had  there  been  an  attempt  at  the  North  to  use  other  than 
legitimate  means  in  assisting  emigration.  There  was  no 
employment  of  mercenaries,  no  defraying  of  expenses  even, 
and  no  discrimination  on  account  of  political  or  other  views 
the  emigrant  might  entertain.  A  pro-slavery  man  had  the 
same  facilities  as  a  Free-State  man.  The  same  was  true  of 
the  settlements  in  the  Territory.  A  pro-slavery  man  was 
entitled  to  all  the  rights,  privileges,  and  immunities  of  the 
most  favored  Free-State  man.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that 
the  slave  interest  demanded  Kansas,  and  it  was  to  be  secured 
at  all  hazards,  legally  or  illegally,  and  the  plea  of  organized 
Northern  emigration  was  on  a  par  with  the  plea  of  the  specu- 
lators in  California,  that  the  squatters  were  "agrarians," 
"  higher-law  "  men,  bent  on  fighting  all  Mexican  grants,  right 
or  wrong.  In  both  cases  an  outrage  was  determined  upon, 
and  a  false  issue  must  be  made  to  afford  some  excuse  to  the 
world. 

Besides  the  organization  at  Salt  Creek  Valley,  other  asso- 
ciations were  formed  in  different  parts  of  the  Territory,  in 


78  THI-:    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  summer  and  fall  of  1854,  nearly  all  of  which  provided 
for  the  protection  of  all  settlers  except  abolitionists.  As 
Free-State  settlers  arrived  in  a  neighborhood,  these  restric- 
tions would  be  voted  out  and  all  but  actual  settlers  disfran- 
chised. Such  a  meeting  was  held  at  B.  W.  Miller's  house, 
on  the  California  road,  southwest  of  Lawrence.  When  the 
pro-slavery  non-residents  failed  to  control  the  association, 
they  reported  at  Westport,  Missouri,  where  an  organization 
could  be  perfected  without  opposition  from  the  free-soil 
squatters  of  Kansas.  The  name  of  this  association,  which 
met  at  Miller's,  was  "  The  Mutual  Settlers'  Association  of 
Kansas  Territory,"  and  it  had  for  officers,  a  chief  justice, 
register,  marshal,  and  treasurer.  While  it  was  contemplated 
that  all  disputes  would  be  settled  by  these  courts,  these  were, 
in  fact,  but  little  used,  as  they  were  far  too  formal  and  dila- 
tory to  meet  most  cases.  As  a  rule,  squatters  settled  their 
disputes  in  person,  appealing  to  no  higher  authority  than 
physical  force  or  bluster.  One  man,  who  had  played  the 
role  of  "Bombastes  Furioso  "  in  the  squatter  troubles  in  Cali- 
fornia, although  not  at  the  fight,  was  for  a  time  quite  useful 
in  Kansas.  When  pro-slavery  men  would  appear,  if  sur- 
rounded by  his  friends,  he  would  become  furiously  excited, 
pulling  off  his  coat  and  vest  preparatory  to  a  personal  en- 
counter. This  would  have  the  effect  of  inducing  the  pro- 
slavery  men  to  pass  on.  At  length,  however,  some  men 
appeared  who  were  not  frightened  by  contortions  or  wind. 
Bombastes  raved  and  writhed  as  usual,  but  produced  no 
impression.  The  Missourians  were  rather  amused  than 
frightened.  Even  the  shedding  of  coat  and  vest  had  no 
effect,  and  Bombastes  had  to  call  upon  his  friends  to  "  hold 
me,"  and  prevent  a  fatal  encounter.  This  ended  Furioso's 
career  as  bully,  and  he  subsided. 

The  most  serious  and  determined  claim  disputes  were  to 
be  found  at  Lawrence,  in  the  fall  of  1854  and  winter  of 
1855.  At  this  time  Lawrence  was  the  only  Free-State  town 
of  importance  in  the  Territory,  and,  if  possible,  it  must  be 


CLAIM    CONFLICTS.  79 

obliterated.  When  the  site  was  selected  for  a  town,  but  one 
settler,  Mr.  Stearns,  occupied  it,  and  his  improvement  and 
claim  were  purchased  by  the  agent  of  the  Aid  Company  for 
$500,  and  the  cabin  converted  into  a  store.  Another  settler, 
A.  B.  Wade,  was  near  the  site  on  the  west,  but  he  retained 
his  claim,  as  it  was  not  needed  for  the  town.  However, 
soon  after  taking  possession,  other  claimants  appeared,  and 
insisted  that  the  town  should  vacate  for  them.  The  most 
belligerent  of  these  claimants  was  John  Baldwin.  He  estab- 
.lished  himself  within  five  or  ten  rods  of  the  Stearns  cabin 
bought  for  the  town,  and  asserted  his  right  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land.  He  employed  a  young  man  named 
C.  W.  Babcock  as  his  attorney.  As  the  lands  had  not  yet 
been  surveyed,  it  was  impossible  to  tell  where  section  lines 
would  run,  and  the  town  company  were  disposed  to  act 
strictly  on  the  defensive.  The  managers  were  satisfied  to 
leave  the  question  of  title  to  the  Land  Office  or  the  courts, 
and  it  was  immaterial  how  many  persons  set  up  claim  to  the 
town  site.  Not  so,  however,  with  Baldwin  and  Company. 
Although,  if  their  claims  were  valid,  the  more  occupants  and 
improvements  the  better  for  them,  they  determined  to  remove 
all  occupants  and  all  improvements  from  their  claims,  which 
covered,  or  would  cover  if  heeded,  nearly  the  whole  territory 
opened  to  settlement.  While  the  motive  that  actuated  pro- 
slavery  men  was  to  forestall  the  Free-State  settlers  and  pre- 
vent them  from  getting  a  foothold  in  the  Territory,  some  of 
the  claimants  at  Lawrence  cared  nothing  for  the  slavery 
question,  but  simply  wanted  to  be  bought  off.  They  took 
advantage  for  this  purpose  of  the  pro-slavery  sentiment.  A 
town  site  was  platted  at  Lawrence  about  two  and  one-half 
miles  by  one  and  one-half  miles,  although,  under  the  pre- 
emption laws,  but  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  could  be 
held  for  town  purposes.  This  made  it  necessary  to  hold  the 
excess  by  private  entry,  and  men  were  assigned  to  different 
parts  of  the  plat  for  the  purpose.  The  pro-slavery  men,  or 
blackmail  Free-State  men.  also  laid  claim  to  this  land  and 


80  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

would  clear  it  of  all  comers.  The  agent  of  the  Aid  Com- 
pany advocated  the  same  policy  as  was  adopted  by  the 
squatters  in  California,  namely,  let  each  settler  be  protected 
in  occupancy  till  a  legal  decision  could  be  had,  and  this 
policy  was  adopted  by  the  Lawrence  town  company.  But 
this  would  not  answer  the  purposes  of  the  contestants,  for  the 
pro-slavery  men  were  determined  to  prevent  the  settlement  of 
Free-State  men,  right  or  wrong,  and  the  blackmailers  knew 
they  had  no  case,  and  must  get  blackmail  then  or  lose  all. 

The  first  conflict  threatened  by  this  state  of  things  is  de- 
scribed in  Andrea's  history,  on  pages  314  and  3 1 5,  as  follows : 

"  In  the  meantime  Baldwin  associated  with  himself  Messrs.  Babcock, 
Stone,  and  Freeman,  men  of  some  means  and  influence,  and  put  his 
business  into  the  hands  of  a  speculator  named  Starr,  who  immediately 
proceeded  to  lay  out  a  rival  city,  which  he  named  Excelsior,  on  the 
claim  ;  Mr.  Baldwin  and  the  Lawrence  Association  both  occupying  tents 
upon  it,  in  proof  of  ownership.  The  strife  grew  bitter,  and  although 
purely  one  of  conflicting  property  rights — the  parties  being  nearly  all 
Free-State  men — was  represented,  or  misrepresented,  to  be  a  quarrel 
between  the  pro-slavery  men  and  abolitionists.  Matters  stood  thus : 
Mr.  Baldwin  occupying  his  tent  and  the  Yankees  scowling  defiantly 
at  him  across  the  ravine,  until,  on  the  5th  of  October,  notice  was  given 
that  open  war  was  declared,  by  the  appearance  of  a  wagon  containing 
several  armed  men  in  the  vicinity  of  the  New  England  tent.  Hos- 
tilities were  commenced  by  a  woman,  a  sister  of  Mr.  Baldwin,  it  was 
stated,  who  speedily  packed  the  obnoxious  tent  with  its  contents 
into  the  wagon — the  men  with  their  rifles  standing  guard.  As  soon  as 
they  were  discovered  by  the  Yankees,  who  were  at  work  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, the  city  marshal,  Joel  Grover,  rushed  to  the  rescue  unarmed, 
followed  by  Edwin  Bond  with  a  revolver.  The  latter  seized  the  horse 
by  the  bridle,  ordering  the  surrender  of  the  property,  and  others  com- 
ing up,  the  intruders  allowed  the  tent  to  be  replaced,  at  the  same  time 
threatening  to  have  two  hundred  Missourians  on  the  spot  in  a  short 
time,  when  their  designs  would  be  accomplished.  That  night  the 
Lawrence  settlers  organized  what  they  called  the  '  Regulating  Band,' 
to  be  ready  for  the  next  day's  fray.  Soon  after  dinner  on  the  6th,  'the 
Missourians,'  by  which  name  all  Southerners  opposed  to  the  aims  of 
the  Emigrant  Aid  Society  were  called,  began  to  assemble  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Baldwin's  tent,  but  open  hostilities  did  not  commence  until 
four  o'clock  P.M.  when  the  gage  of  battle  was  hurled  at  the  Yankees  in 
the  shape  of  the  following  note : 


CONFLICT  AT  LAWRENCE.  8 1 

"  '  KANSAS  TERRITORY,  October  6th. 

"  '  DR.  ROBINSON  : — Yourself  and  friends  are  hereby  notified  that 
you  will  have  one-half  hour  to  move  the  tent  which  you  have  on  my 
undisputed  claim,  and  from  this  date  desist  from  surveying  on  said 
claim.  If  the  tent  is  not  moved  within  one-half  hour,  we  shall  take  the 
trouble  to  move  the  same.  (Signed,) 

"'JOHN  BALDWIN  AND  FRIENDS.' 

"  The  following  pithy  reply  was  instantly  returned: 

"  '  To  John  Baldwin  and  Friends. 

"  '  If  you  molest  our  property,  you  do  it  at  your  peril. 

"  '  C.  ROBINSON  AND  FRIENDS.'" 

E.  D.  Ladd,  first  acting  postmaster  of  Lawrence,  tells  the 
remainder  of  the  story  in  a  letter  dated  October  23,  1854, 
and  published  in  the  Milwaukee  Sentinel.  He  says: 

"  Prior  to  the  notice,  they  had  assembled  to  the  number  of  eighteen, 
mounted  and  armed,  at  Baldwin's,  the  aggrieved  man's  tent,  on  the 
claim,  and  about  twenty  rods  from  our  camp.  Upon  the  notice  being 
served,  our  men — those  who  were  at  work  about  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  camp — to  the  number  of  about  thirty,  stationed  themselves  about 
ten  rods  from  the  contested  tent,  the  enemy  being  about  the  same  dis- 
tance from  it,  the  three  occupying  the  angles  of  a  right-angled  triangle, 
the  tent  being  at  the  right  angle.  Subsequent  to  the  notice,  a  consul- 
tation was  held  at  our  position  between  Dr^  Robinson  and  a  delegate 
from  the  enemy's  post,  which  ended  on  our  part  with  the  proposition  of 
Dr.  Robinson — which  proposition  he  had  previously  made,  both  to 
Baldwin  and  his  legal  adviser,  or  rather  speculator,  who  wished  to 
make  a  '  heap  of  money,'  as  the  Missourians  say,  out  of  him — to  sub- 
mit the  question  in  dispute  to  the  arbitration  of  disinterested  and  un- 
biased men,  to  the  adjudication  of  the  squatter  courts  .now  existing  here, 
or  of  the  United  States  Courts,  and  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  by  the 
assurance  that,  at  the  termination  of  the  notice,  they  should  proceed  at 
all  hazards  to  remove  the  tent,  and  if  they  fell  in  the  attempt,  our  fate 
would  be  sealed,  our  extermination  certain,  for  three  thousand,  and  if 
necessary  thirty  thousand,  men  would  immediately  be  raised  in  Mis- 
souri to  sweep  us  and  our  enterprise  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  was 
all  expressed,  of  course,  in  the  Southwestern  phrases,  which  I  will  not 
attempt  to  give.  The  hour  passed  on,  or  rather  the  half-hour,  and  in 
the  meantime  our  military  company,  formed  the  evening  before,  went 
through  a  variety  of — I  don't  want,  out  of  respect  for  military  science, 
to  call  them  '  evolutions,'  say  we  call  them  '  manifestations,'  marching 
and  counter-marching,  in  single  file  and  by  platoon's,  in  a  manner  not  to 


82  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

be  excelled  in  greenness  by  any  greenhorns  (in  this  business,  I  mean) 
on  the  face  of  the  globe,  our  captain  himself  being  as  green  as  the 
greenest.  General,  I  fear  for  your  buttons  could  you  have  seen  them. 
But  there  were  strong  arms  and  determined  wills  there.  Had  a  man 
laid  a  finger  on  that  tent,  he  would  have  been  sacrificed  instantly,  and 
had  another  single  offensive  movement  been  made  by  one  of  them, 
there  would  not  have  been  a  man  left  to  tell  the  tale.  Our  company  of 
thirty  men  had  about  four  hundred  shots  in  hand,  with  their  rifles  and 
revolvers,  and  they  would  have  used  them  to  the  last  extremity.  They 
had  been  annoyed  by  every  means  possible,  and  even  tauntingly  told  to 
their  faces,  a  dozen  of  them  together,  that  no  Yankee,  except  C'illey, 
ever  dared  to  fire.  Well,  the  half-hour  passed,  and  another  quarter, 
the  enemy  in  full  view  in  consultation,  occasionally  making  a  movement 
as  if  about  to  form  in  order  for  the  execution  of  their  threat,  then  seat- 
ing themselves  upon  the  ground  for  further  consultation,  perhaps 
occasioned  by  the  '  manifestations  '  of  our  military.  \Vhile  thus  wait- 
ing, John  Hutchinson  asked  Dr.  Robinson  what  he  would  do  if  they 
should  attempt  to  remove  the  tent?  would  he  fire  to  hit  them,  or  would 
he  fire  over  them?  Dr.  Robinson  replied  that  he  '  would  be  ashamed 
to  fire  at  a  man  and  not  hit  him.'  Immediately  after  this  reply,  a  man 
who  had  been  with  the  Free-State  men,  and  till  then  supposed  to  be 
one  of  them,  went  over  to  the  other  party,  which  soon  after  dispersed. 
It  was  supposed  at  the  time  that  the  report  of  this  spy  brought  the 
'  war'  to  an  end  for  that  day.  After  the  band  had  mounted  and  dis- 
persed, the  principals  and  principal  instigators  avoided  our  neighbor- 
hood. Some  of  the  more  honest  dupes,  however,  seeing  the  absurdity 
of  their  position,  and  the  reasonableness  of  our  proposition,  riding  up 
to  us  had  a  social  chat,  cracking  jokes,  etc.,  and  then  rode  off  with  the 
determination  formed,  and  more  than  half  expressed,  of  never  being 
caught  in  so  ridiculous  a  farce  again." 

Although  no  three  thousand  or  thirty  thousand  men  made- 
their  appearance  after  this  bloodless  war,  the  claimants  were 
by  no  means  satisfied,  and  dire  vengeance  was  threatened. 
The  report  of  the  trouble  was  industriously  circulated  among 
pro-slavery  settlers  far  and  near,  and  at  length  the  following 
call  was  issued : 

"TERRITORIAL   IM  >Ic  ;\ATI<  >\   MLLTIXC. 

"  We,  the  Sovereign  people  of  Kansas  Territory,  are  requested  to 
meet  at  Lawrence  City,  January  II,  at  II  o'clock  A.M.,  to  adopt  those 
measures  that  will  protect  us  from  all  moneyed  associations  or  influ- 
ences, also  the  tyrannical  encroachments  daily  made  by  the  Lawrence 


"  HAWHAW  "    CHAPMAN.  83 

Association.  On  which  occasion  there  will  be  speeches  made  to  vin- 
dicate the  squatters'  rights  of  pre-emption,  and  the  protection  of  his 
claim  until  entered. 

"  MANY  CITIZENS." 

The  following,  taken  from  "  Incidents  of  Early  Times," 
by  Hon.  John  Speer,  in  the  Kansas  Tribune,  will  convey 
some  idea  of  the  quarrel  and  the  character  of  the  meeting  to 
consider  the  claim  dispute  : 

' '  We  had  several  meetings,  and  had  a  good  deal  of  bitterness  at  some 
of  them.  There  were  fights  and  fusses  all  around.  In  Lawrence  the 
contest  was  a  good  deal  between  the  'outsiders'  and  the  'insiders.' 
The  latter  were  the  Lawrence  Association,  and  the  former  '  squatters  '  who 
were  in  opposition  to  it.  These  associations  related  to  claims  to  the 
town  site,  but  as  the  town  company  was  mostly  Free-State  men,  it 
necessarily  arrayed  all  the  pro-slavery  element  against  it,  which  with 
the  property  claimants  in  opposition  made  a  strong  force. 

"  Several  persons  from  slave  States  professed  to  be  against  slavery 
in  Kansas.  They  generally  wanted  a  '  free  white  State.'  Commotions 
and  fights  and  rumors  of  fights  were  frequent.  A  few  Yankees  wanted 
to  '  argue '  the  matter,  but  the  more  they  wanted  to  argue,  the  more 
their  opponents  were  bound  to  fight. 

"  Among  them  came  a  man  named  Edward  Chapman.  He  had  a 
hare-lip  and  a  tied  tongue,  and  he  made  the  most  of  these  deformities 
by  pretending  that  a  bullet  had  passed  through  his  mouth  at  the  battle 
of  Buena  Vista.  He  boasted  of  his  blood,  but  it  was  found  that  all  his 
claim  to  superiority  of  blood  was  derived  from  having  once  been  a  groom 
to  a  race-horse.  From  his  defective  pronunciation,  and  to  distinguish 
him  from  others  of  that  name,  he  was  called  '  Hawhaw '  Chapman.  A 
great  man  was  Hawhaw.  The  mock-heroic  of  his  composition  was 
only  excelled  by  his  cowardice,  but  he  was  the  bravest  man  where  there 
was  no  enemy  that  we  ever  saw.  They  told  a  story  of  him  that  he  was 
consulting  with  a  Free-State  man  with  the  greatest  profession  of  Free- 
Stateism,  when  suddenly  a  gang  of  armed  pro-slavery  ruffians  rushed 
upon  them.  The  Free-State  man  jumped  into  a  thicket  out  of  sight, 
but  Hawhaw  was  headed  off  and  he  threw  up  his  hands,  exclaiming, 
'  I'm  hro-hlavery,  by  'od.'  He  cut  down  a  cabin  frame  with  an  axe, 
and  was  arrested  and  taken  before  Judge  Lecompte  at  the  Shawnee 
Mission.  His  vandal  spirit  was  a  good  deal  broken,  and  we  went  his 
bail  for  appearance  and  to  keep  the  peace.  He  understood  the  bond 
differently  from  ourselves,  and  wanted  to  keep  a  piece  of  the  cabin  he 
had  mutilated — in  other  words,  to  steal  the  house.  He  killed  a  man 
with  a  club,  but  as  it  was  a  fight  between  two  pro-slavery  men,  nobody 


84  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ever  took  any  other  notice  of  it.  Hawhaw  was  elected  as  a  pro-slavery 
man  to  the  Legislature.  He  was  great  as  a  statesman,  for  he  could 
speak  an  hour  without  anybody  knowing  what  he  said. 

"  Fortunately,  a  specimen  of  his  style  is  perpetuated  in  print.  A 
great  squatter  meeting  was  held  to  denounce  the  Lawrence  Association, 
and  Hawhaw  presented  his  remarks  and  his  resolutions  in  writing,  and 
as  nobody  could  tell  what  he  said,  his  resolutions  were  passed  unani- 
mously amid  great  pro-slavery  enthusiasm.  We  quote  from  the  Kan  MIS 
Tribune  of  January  24,  1855  : 

"  '  Pursuant  to  the  call,  the  squatters  of  Kansas  Territory  assembled 
in  large  numbers,  on  the  nth  clay  of  January,  1855,  and  long  before  the 
hour  of  meeting  the  streets  were  thronged  with  the  multitude.  We 
had  never  before  attended  a  meeting  so  boisterous  and  violent  as  this 

one.  There  were  five  hundred  persons  present,  all  armed.  Jones, 

still  living  here,  undertook  to  speak  against  G.  W.  Clarke  on  a  claim 
question.  The  stand  was  a  store  box,  and  Clarke  "went  for  him"  in 
the  rear,  sending  him  at  least  a  rod  over  the  heads  of  the  crowd  around 
the  stand.  Revolvers  were  quickly  hauled,  and  Clarke  undertook  to 
shoot  Governor  Robinson.  Still  there  was  no  bloodshed. 

"  '  When  Hawhaw's  printed  proceedings  came  out,  however,  they 
were  too  ridiculous  to  excite  anything  but  merriment.  When  Robin- 
son read  them  he  merely  remarked  that  he  would  rather  be  a  "false 
Belshazzar  "  than  a  real  one.' 

"HAWIIAWS    SPEECH. 

"  '  FELLOW-CITIZENS:  The  assemblage  of  the  sovereign  people  <m 
this  day,  by  a  spontaneous  impulse  and  lor  a  common  purpose,  is  a  most 
glorious  spectacle.  And  we,  too,  friends  and  neighbors,  are  here 
together.  The  toils  and  cares  of  our  daily  avocations  are  laid  aside ; 
the  disquietudes  and  strifes  that  vex  our  poor  humanity  shall  be  lost  in 
the  mutual  recognition  of  one  grand  sentiment.  And  the  turbulent, 
selfish  interests  here  manifested  for  a  period — under  the  overshadowing 
spell  of  sectional  influences,  which  gloom  pervades  the  hearts  of  nu-n, 
whose  actors  upon  the  grand  rostrum  of  the  future,  choose  as  their 
talisman  the  sovereign  ear  whose  compunction  some  slight  affectionate 
cares  of  every  victim  of  the  oppressor  triumph  as  the  idol  of  their  vain 
madness,  and  of  their  midnight  orgies,  which  forever  crush  the  rights 
of  this  people. 

'  '  We  have  been  weak,  now  in  justice  we  are  strong — more  imposing 
than  of  forty  centuries  from  the  old  pyramids — the  intellectual  and  pro- 
gressive years  of  self-government  of  a  free  people.  The  fraternal  influ- 
ences— what  are  they?  And  why  are  we  here  this  day? 

"  '  A  handful  of  men  on  the  western  bank  of  the  remotest  tributary, 


MEETING    OF    SQUATTERS.  85 

whose  waters  pay  homage  to  the  father  of  waters,  and  yet  only  in  the 
centre  of  this  immense  confederacy,  whose  shade  is  a  refuge  for  all 
nations  of  the  earth,  and  the  free  breezes  that  unceasingly  sweep 
through  the  branches,  over  the  silent  sepulchres  of  those  who  fought 
the  good  fight  and  proclaimed  to  the  world  to  be  a  free,  independent 
and  sovereign  people.  The  seed  which  they  planted  with  tremulous 
apprehension  are  here  this  day,  commingling  their  patriotic  rebukes 
against  that  mercenary  morbidness  which  characterizes  the  Lawrence 
Association  as  stock-jobbers  and  money-getters — men  of  exchanges  and 
coteries  and  self-interest — covered  from  head  to  foot  with  the  leprosy 
of  materialism,  until  it  shall  submerge  all  opposition,  by  secret  and 
unjust  invasions  which  from  their  first  advent  in  Kansas  Territory  up 
to  the  present  is  opulence,  title,  and  despotism  with  civil  feuds,  di^ev- 
ering  all  fraternal  affections.  We,  the  sovereign  squatters,  proclaim 
the  manifesto  of  our  absolute  authority  and  an  inexorable  interdict  to 
every  despotic  invader  upon  our  rights,  secured  and  sanctified  by  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States.  "  Thus  far  shah  thou  go  and  no 
farther."  We,  the  sovereign  squatters,  stand  forth  boldly  upon  our 
commanding  eminence — the  highest  law  of  the  land. 

'  '  Compromising  the  plighted  faith  of  the  Government  that  the  land 
we  now  occupy  shall  be  our  future  homes  upon  which  eminence  we  this 
day  invite  for  the  last  .time  the  false  Belshazzar  who  with  restless  gaze 
views  the  dauntless  energy  which  guides  us  to  this  grand  consumma- 
tion. If  wrong  in  statements  here  made  this  day  of  your  unjust  inva- 
sions, nerve  the  lost,  mutilated,  and  tattered  honor — dishonored  and 
blackened  with  treason,  incapable  of  sincere  demonstration  against  our 
rights  as  sovereign  squatters  that  these  lands  shall  be  our  homes  ; 
on  which  occasion  we  proclaim  to  the  world  the  wrongs  which,  by 
foreign  intrigue  and  hypocrisy  which  you  this  day  are  called  to 
deny  the  immutable  facts  whose  design  is  imperishable  tyranny ;  to 
take  from  the  poor  man  his  home ;  to  enrich  those  that  now  in  luxury 
dwell.' 

' '  And  this  is  what  old  Haw  haw  proposed  to  do  with  the  '  false 
Belshazzar  ' : 

"  'Resolved,  That  as  on  former  occasions  C.  Robinson  should  again 
call  to  his  aid  the  gallant  hussars  No.  i,  supported  by  his  shot-gun 
battalion,  in  forcing  us  from  our  rights ;  that  we,  the  sovereign 
squatters  of  Kansas  Territory,  will  take  his  honor  and  battalion  and 
deal  with  them  according  to  laws,  rules,  and  regulations  prescribed 
therein  that  we  may  adopt.' 

"  Ridiculous  as  these  extracts  are,  they  are  literally  just  as  they 
were  passed  and  as  Hawhaw  wrote  them  out.  They  were  mainly 
directed  against  Dr.  (since  Governor)  Robinson,  who  was  the  '  false 


86  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Belshazzar  '  of  the  occasion,  and  although  Robinson  was  present  when 
they  were  passed,  as  he  couldn't  understand  a  word  that  Ilawhaw  said, 
how  could  he  object?  But  the  other  speeches  by  Clarke  (the  man  who 
afterwards  murdered  Barber),  Wood,  and  others  were  very  bitter  on 
Robinson  and  the  whole  association,  and  Robinson,  Emery,  Speer  and 
others  did  reply  to  them." 

Andrea's  history  says  of  this  meeting,  page  318 : 

"  Many  who  attended  this  meeting  were  diametrically  opposed  to  the 
proceedings,  and  to  the  resolutions  adopted,  and  to  make  sure  their 
position  should  not  be  misunderstood,  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  not 
members  of  the  Lawrence  Association  was  held  at  the  '  church  '  on  the 
l6th,  which  denounced  the  proceedings  of  that  on  the  nth  as  being 
'  held  and  conducted  in  a  one-sided,  indecent,  mob-like  manner,  and 
wholly  in  opposition  to  justice,  right  and  honor,'  and  that  as  the 
'  endeavor  was  made  to  make  us  responsible  for  those  proceedings,  we 
therefore  disavow  all  complicity  or  assent  thereto  and  denounce  the  origi- 
nators as  demagogues.'  The  course  pursued  by  the  Lawrence  Associa- 
tion was  endorsed  by  the  meeting  of  which  S.  J.  Willis  was  president; 
Dr.  J.  F.  Merriam,  secretary;  Messrs.  Stewart,  Ladd,  1'illsbury,  Hart- 
well,  and  Lowe,  vice-presidents.  The  resolutions  presented  by  Messrs. 
Ladd,  Emery,  Doy,  Mailey,  Hutchinson,  Man,  Searl,  Simpson,  and 
Tappan  were  adopted.  The  third  and  fourth  resolutions  follow  : 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  organization  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society  has 
been  of  exceeding  great  benefit  in  the  transmission  of  emigrants  to  the 
Territory ;  and  their  establishing  an  agency  in  this  city,  and  their  invest- 
ment of  capital  herein  has  been  a  decided  advantage  to  the  place,  towards 
its  rapid  growth,  providing  for  the  wants  and  alleviating  the  trials  of 
the  settlers,  and  we  believe  that  their  efforts  thus  far  have  been  entirely 
disinterested ;  and  we  therefore  most  cordially  invite  them  to  remain 
and  continue  their  operations  among  us,  at  the  same  time  assuring 
them  of  our  sincere  approval  of  the  past,  and  of  our  co-operation  in  the 
future. 

"  'Resolved,  That  we,  as  citizens  of  Lawrence,  partii'iihirly  approve 
of  the  course  pursued  by  the  Laurence  Association  towards  the  Emi- 
grant Aid  Society  in  extending  an  invitation  to  that  company  to  invest 
their  capital  here,  and  the  basis  upon  which  they  are  allowed  to  operate; 
and  we  shall  duly  respect  their  city  rights,  and  support  them  in  all  law- 
ful and  liberal  movements.' 

"  At  the  same  meeting  the  committee  of  the  Lawrence  Association, 
by  their  chairman,  Mr.  J.  Hutchinson,  reported  the  following  resolu- 
tions, which  were  adopted : 


RESOLUTIONS    OF    ENDORSEMENT.  87 

"  'Resolved,  That  while  believing  there  is  no  legal  redress  for  tres- 
passes committed  upon  unsurveyed  lands,  we  have  never  as  an  associa- 
tion approved  of  cutting  timber  upon  individual  claims,  made  in  good 
faith ;  but  we  fully  discountenance  such  acts,  believing  them  to  be  con- 
trary to  equity  and  good  order. 

"  'Resolved,  That  as  the  law  holds  a  man's  domicile  no  less  sacred 
and  inviolate  than  his  person,  we  regard  all  persons  who  shall  molest 
or  destroy  houses  erected  or  in  process  of  erection  as  men  guilty  of  a 
henious  offense  and  regardless  of  the  law  of  the  land. 

"  'Resolved,  That  while  we  uphold  only  justice  and  good  order,  we 
believe  that  neither  the  Lawrence  Association  nor  their  officers  are 
accountable  for  individual  acts  civilly  or  politically,  and  that  the  late 
attempts  to  bring  this  association  into  bad  repute  and  to  cast  upon  us  a 
stigma  as  undeserved  as  it  is  unjust,  will  bring  down  threefold  odium 
upon  the  heads  of  the  vile  perpetrators.' 

"  Dr.  Robinson,  towards  the  close  of  the  meeting,  made  a  short  and 
sensible  speech,  refuting  some  of  the  charges  made  against  him,*  coun- 
selling his  hearers  of  the  danger  of  quarrels  among  themselves,  and 
impressing  upon  them  the  duty  and  necessity  of  union  ;  that  they  might, 
'  with  voice  and  hand  and  means  combined,  defend  these  hills  and  val- 
leys, these  rivers  and  broad  prairies  from  the  curse  of  human  bondage 
and  the  chains  of  slavery.'  " 

But  resolutions  and  counter  resolutions  availed  nothing 
except  to  place  the  respective  parties  on  record.  The  Free- 
State  men  were  in  no  mood  to  be  driven  off,  and  the  claim- 
ants were  persistent  for  blackmail  or  the  possession  of  the 
land.  Hostilities  were  continued  when  occasion  offered,  to 
the  annoyance  of  all  concerned,  whether  on  or  off  the  town 
site.  One  day,  on  the  return  of  the  agent  of  the  Aid  Com- 
pany from  a  visit  out  of  the  settlement,  he  was  informed  that 
his  own  house,  erected  on  Oread  Hill,  was  being  cut  down 
by  pro-slavery  men.  G.  W.  Deitzler,  S.  N.  Wood,  and  S. 
N.  Simpson  volunteered  to  go  to  the  battle-field,  but,  as 
soon  as  the  house  was  reached,  the  cutting  was  discon- 
tinued and  the  vandals  slunk  away.  Such  men  never  liked 
Deitzler,  Wood,  and  Simpson,  and  had  no  desire  to  associate 
with  them  on  such  occasions.  They  would  sooner  leave 
their  work  in  hand  unfinished  than  remain  in  such  company. 

In  the  month  of  February,  the  resident  agent  of  the  Aid 


88  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Company  went  East,  and  returned  with  the  first  spring  party 
in  March,  1855.  During  his  absence  a  compromise  was 
effected  with  the  claimants  to  the  town  site  by  limiting  the 
area  to  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  and  giving  four  or  five 
men  one  hundred  out  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  shares  into 
which  the  site  was  divided,  leaving  one  hundred  and  ten 
shares  for  the  original  town  company,  and  eight  shares  for 
the  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  with  two  shares  in  trust  for  the 
endowment  of  a  school.  This  compromise  was  made  with 
the  consent  of  the  financial  agent  of  the  Aid  Company,  who 
resided  at  Kansas  City,  Missouri.  Why  it  was  made  has 
never  appeared.  These  town-site  jumpers  had  no  more 
legal  or  equitable  title  to  this  one  hundred  shares  than 
Franjdin  Pierce  or  Jeff  Davis. 

The  pre-emption  law  excepted  from  individual  pre-emp- 
tion all  "  sections  or  fractions  of  sections  included  within 
the  limits  of  any  incorporated  town,  every  portion  of  the 
public  land  which  has  been  selected  for  a  site  for  a  city  or 
town,  and  every  parcel  or  lot  of  land  actually  settled  or  oc- 
cupied for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  not  agriculture." 

Lawrence  was  selected  as  a  town  site  on  the  last  of  July, 
1854,  and  the  commissioner  of  the  Land  Office  said  the 
Shawnee  lands  were  not  opened  to  settlement,  by  the  extin- 
guishment of  the  Indian  title,  till  September  a8th  of  that 
year,  therefore  no  individual  claimant  could  acquire  any  right 
whatever  before  that  date.  Neither  could  he  after  it,  as  the 
place  had  already  been  selected  and  occupied  for  a  town  and 
for  "purposes  of  trade  and  not  agriculture." 

But  the  most  unfortunate  deal  of  all  was  the  mutilation  of 
South  Park.  That  had  been  platted  to  extend  to  Quincy 
street  on  the  north,  Kentucky  street  on  the  west,  Lee  street 
on  the  south,  and  Rhode  Island  street  on  the  east.  To 
gratify  the  greed  of  the  spoilsmen  a  strip  of  land,  the  width 
of  one-half  of  a  block  on  each  side  of  the  park  was  platted 
into  lots,  and  divided  among  them,  leaving  the  park  as  at 
present,  bounded  on  all  sides  by  alleys  in  the  rear  of  the  lots 


CLAIM    CONTESTS.  89 

appropriated,  where  can  be  found  outhouses,  stables,  coal 
and  wood  sheds,  ash-heaps,  garbage  and  offal  of  all  descrip- 
tions common  to  back  yards  of  a  city.  In  the  original  ar- 
rangement, the  members  of  the  town  association  were  to  have 
every  other  lot,  leaving  the  remainder  to  be  divided  equally 
between  the  Aid  Company,  and  parties  who  would  improve 
the  lots.  Under  this  arrangement  the  company  had  in  con- 
templation not  only  mills  and  hotel,  but  the  erection  of  an 
educational  institution  for  advanced  pupils.  As  soon  as  this 
surrender  was  learned  in  the  East,  there  was  virtually  an  end 
of  stock  subscriptions  in  the  company  as  an  investment,  and 
an  end  of  all  college  building  at  Lawrence.  But  few  shares 
of  stock  were  afterwards  subscribed,  and  money  had  to  be 
raised  on  the  contribution  plan.  Mr.  Thayer  turned  his  at- 
tention in  this  direction,  and  in  1856  had  the  entire  North 
organized  on  this  basis. 

Had  this  surrender  quieted  the  title  to  Lawrence  some 
equivalent  might  have  been  received,  but  it  had  no  such 
effect.  While  the  four  town  jumpers  were  quieted,  a  large 
number  of  other  persons  were  dissatisfied,  and  set  up  protests 
and  counter-claims,  which  were  never  put  at  rest  till  the  title 
was  finally  adjusted  by  Government  officials.  The  uncer- 
tainty of  title  was  as  great  after  the  surrender  as  before, 
although  the  new  claimants  were  content  to  await  official 
action,  while  the  jumpers  were  not.  As  late  as  August, 
1855,  over  ninety  occupants  of  the  town  made  a  protest 
against  this  settlement  showing  its  injustice  and  illegality. 
Among  other  things  they  say  : 

"  We  beg  leave  respectfully  to  submit  that  they  are  deeply  dissatisfied 
with  the  '  settlement '  entered  into  in  March  last  between  your  associa- 
tion on  the  one  part,  and  Messrs.  C.  W.  Babcock,  J.  P.  Wood,  Win. 
Lykins,  \Ym.  and  John  Baldwin,  on  the  other.  We  are  dissatisfied 
with  this  so-called  settlement,  because  it  is  extremely  well  calculated,  in 
our  opinion,  to  impair  the  interests  and  check  the  progress  of  this  town. 
By  its  operations  nearly  one-half  of  all  the  land  embraced  in  the  town 
plot  is  monopolized  by  half  a  dozen  persons,  whose  right  thereto 
emanates  from  the  association  alone,  while  the  number  of  actual  inhab- 


90  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

itants  at  the  present  time  is  not  far  from  five  hundred.  At  an  early 
period  the  Lawrence  Association  adopted  a  policy  with  reference  to  those 
who  desired  to  settle  and  acquire  property  in  the  town,  well  designed  to 
stimulate  its  growth  and  increase  its  prosperity.  That  association 
adopted  a  resolution,  October  9,  1854,  '  to  set  apart  every  fourth  lot  in 
the  city  to  be  given  to  those  who  would  build  upon  them,  or  to  those  to 
whom  the  association  might  deem  it  proper  to  donate  the  same.'  On 
the  i6th  December,  1854,  it  also  enacted  '  that  every  person  who  was 
then,  or  might  become,  a  resident  of  the  town,  and  should  remain  during 
the  winter,  should  be  entitled  to  three  city  lots  of  the  standard  size,  on 
condition  of  making  improvements  respecting  the  rules  of  the  associa- 
tion, etc.' 

"  These  measures  were  just  and  judicious.  They  were  just  because 
they  served  to  distribute  the  land  upon  which  the  town  was  located  to 
all  the  inhabitants  thereof  upon  terms  graduated  according  to  the  amount 
of  service  respectively  rendered  in  building  up  the  town  and  making 
valuable  the  lands  upon  which  it  was  located.  And  being  just,  they 
were  also  judicious,  because  they  extended  a  fair  chance  and  solid  in- 
terest to  all  who  thought  proper  to  accept  the  same,  and  in  this  way 
secured  the  settlement  of  a  large  number  of  persons  who  otherwise 
would  not  have  come,  and  whose  exertions  and  improvements  contribute 
greatly  to  the  advancement  of  the  town.  By  the  adoption  of  this  settle- 
ment their  wise  and  beneficent  policy  was  necessarily  abandoned,  and 
nearly  half  of  all  the  land  pertaining  to  the  city  site  allowed  to  pass  into 
the  possession  of  five  men,  thus  creating  a  monopoly  which  is  already 
showing  deleterious  and  injurious  effects  upon  this  community,  by  the 
rapid  decrease  in  the  value  of  real  estate,  and  the  uncertainty  which 
rests  upon  all  business  transactions.  In  consequence  of  this,  also,  the 
association  was  compelled  to  disregard,  in  a  number  of  instances,  its 
engagements  with  those  who  had  come  into  the  town  upon  the  condi- 
tions of  its  previous  policy.  So  completely  was  it  stript  of  its  resources 
by  this  silly  transaction  that  it  was  constrained  to  repudiate  some  of  its 
most  binding  obligations.  The  impelling  motive  to  the  adoption  by  the 
association  of  this  strange  measure  seems  to  have  been  the  desire  to  get 
rid  of  a  claim,  by  the  gentlemen  above  named,  to  a  portion  of  the  city 
site,  and  the  association  seems  to  have  assented  to  the  arrangement 
under  a  gross  misapprehension  of  the  true  grounds  upon  w-hich  that 
claim  was  based,  but  the  claim,  as  can  now  be  seen  by  the  foregoing 
argument,  was  without  the  slightest  foundation." 


CHAPTER  V. 

SETTLEMENTS. ELECTIONS. PUBLIC  SENTIMENT. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  persistent  effort  of  pro-slavery  men 
to  harass  and  drive  off  Free-State  men  on  a  pretext  of  priority 
of  claims,  not  only  at  Lawrence  but  elsewhere,  Free- State 
settlers  remained,  defended  their  rights  to  lands  settled  upon, 
and  large  accessions  were  constantly  made  to  their  numbers. 
Before  winter  set  in,  people  from  all  parts  of  the  East,  North, 
and  West,  as  well  as  the  South,  were  moving  to  Kansas  faster 
than  accommodations  could  be  provided  for  their  comfort. 
The  threats  and  bluster  of  the  pro-slavery  men  and  journals 
had  served  to  stimulate  rather  than  prevent  Northern  emigra- 
tion. The  Herald  of  Freedom  thus  speaks  of  the  emigration, 
March  10,  1855  : 

"  The  first  company,  consisting  of  thirty-one  persons,  arrived  in 
Lawrence  on  the  first  day  of  August  last ;  the  second  party  arrived  the 
1 3th  of  September,  and  numbered  one  hundred  and  thirty;  the  third 
party  arrived  the  8th  of  October,  and  numbered  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  ;  the  fourth  party  arrived  October  3Oth,  and  numbered  two  hundred 
and  thirty ;  the  fifth  party  arrived  November  2Oth,  with  one  hundred 
persons ;  the  sixth  and  last  regular  party  of  the  season  arrived  Decem- 
ber ist,  and  numbered  fifty  persons  ;  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  six 
hundred  and  seventy-three.  But  this  does  not  begin  to  show  the  num- 
ber who  were  induced  to  emigrate  to  Kansas  in  consequence  of  this 
organization.  Other  portions  of  our  confederacy,  witnessing  the  great 
movement  westward  set  in  motion  by  this  company,  were  induced  to 
fall  into  line.  The  Pennsylvania  company,  numbering  fully  three  hun- 
dred persons  in  all,  were  induced,  to  our  certain  knowledge,  to  come  last 
season  in  consequence  of  the  advantage  they  expected  to  derive  from 
those  connected  with  the  Aid  Company.  Ohio  sent  forward  her  pio- 
neers, who  were  also  strengthened  in  their  purpose  to  locate  here  from 


92  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  same  cause.  Hundreds  on  hundreds  of  individuals  from  all  parts 
of  the  free  North  were  wakened  up  on  the  subject,  and  induced  to 
emigrate  on  account  of  the  description  of  the  country,  and  the  advan- 
tages to  the  settlers  first  furnished  to  the  public  press,  and  afterwards 
extensively  copied  into  nearly  every  anti-Nebraska  journal,  by  the 
agents  of  this  organization.  Even  the  American  Settlement  Company, 
which  claims  to  have  done  so  much  towards  populating  Kansas,  was 
but  an  offshoot  of  the  New  England  organization,  and  owed  its  existence 
to  Mr.  Thayer's  great  speech  in  the  Tabernacle,  New  York ;  he  having 
given  birth  to  the  New  York  Kansas  League,  and  some  of  those  con- 
nected with  that  League  devised  the  Settlement  Company.  We  have 
no  doubt  but,  if  all  the  instrumentalities  which  have  operated  to  influence 
the  public  mind  directly  and  indirectly,  could  be  brought  to  light,  it 
would  appear  that,  instead  of  sending  '  two  or  three  hundred  '  into  the 
Territory  from  the  free  States,  it  would  be  manifest  that  they  had 
influenced  the  settling  of  thousands  among  us — not  a  fiftieth  part,  how- 
ever, of  the  number  they  will  eventually  induce  in  the  same  direction, 
if  need  be,  to  make  Kansas  a  free  State."  j 

On  November  291x1  was  held  an  election  for  territorial 
delegate  to  Congress.  As  this  election  had  no  direct  agency 
in  State-making,  it  attracted  much  less  attention  than  the 
election  for  a  territorial  Legislature  which  was  held  in  the 
spring  of  1855.  But  it  was  deemed  of  sufficient  importance 
by  the  pro-slavery  men  to  make  extensive  preparations  for 
an  invasion  from  Missouri.  The  machinery  for  controlling 
elections  had  been  well  provided  in  advance,  and  was  ready 
for  operation.  The  Congressional  committee,  in  the  report 
of  the  majority,  make  this  statement,  based  upon  testimony 
taken  by  it : 

"  Before  any  election  was  or  could  be  held  in  the  Territory,  a  secret 
political  society  was  formed  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  It  was  known 
by  different  names,  such  as  'Social  Hand,'  '  Friends'  Society,'  '  l!lue 
Lodge,'  'The  Sons  of  the  South.'  Its  members  were  bound  together 
by  secret  oaths,  and  they  had  pass-words,  signs,  and  grips,  by  which 
they  were  known  to  each  other ;  penalties  were  imposed  for  violating 
the  rules  and  secrets  of  the  order;  written  minutes  were  kept  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  lodges ;  and  the  different  lodges  were  connected 
together  by  an  effective  organization.  It  embraced  great  numbers  of 
the  citizens  of  Missouri,  and  was  extended  into  other  slave  States  and 
into  the  Territory.  Its  avowed  purpose  was  to  extend  slavery  not  only 


DELEGATE    ELECTION.  93 

into  Kansas,  but  also  into  other  Territories  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  form  a  union  of  all  the  friends  of  that  institution.  Its  plan  of  oper- 
ating was  to  organize  and  send  men  to  vote  at  the  elections  in  the  Ter- 
ritory, to  collect  money  to  pay  their  expenses,  and,  if  necessary,  to 
protect  them  in  voting.  It  also  proposed  to  induce  pro-slavery  men  to 
emigrate  into  the  Territory,  to  aid  and  sustain  them  while  there,  and  to 
elect  none  to  office  but  those  friendly  to  their  views.  This  dangerous 
society  was  controlled  by  men  who  avowed  their  purpose  to  extend 
slavery  into  the  Territory  at  all  hazards,  and  was  altogether  the  most 
effective  instrument  in  organizing  the  subsequent  armed  invasions  and 
forays.  In  its  lodges  in  Missouri  the  affairs  of  Kansas  were  discussed. 
The  force  necessary  to  control  the  election  was  divided  into  bands  and 
leaders  selected.  Means  were  collected,  and  signs  and  badges  were 
agreed  upon.  While  the  great  body  of  the  actual  settlers  of  the  Terri- 
tory were  relying  upon  the  rights  secured  to  them  by  the  organic  law, 
and  had  formed  no  organization  or  combination  whatever,  even  of  a 
party  character,  this  conspiracy  against  their  rights  was  gathering 
strength  in  a  neighboring  State,  and  would  have  been  sufficient  at  their 
first  election  to  have  overpowered  them,  even  if  they  had  been  united 
to  a  man." 

The  great  champion  and  leader  of  the  slavery  propagan- 
dists, General  D.  R.  Atchison,  is  reported  by  the  Platte  Argus 
as  explaining  his  position  and  that  of  his  allies,  at  Weston, 
Missouri,  as  follows : 

"  He  would  now  pass  to  the  settlement  of  Kansas,  its  destiny,  and 
the  effect  it  was  to  have  upon  the  State  of  Missouri. 

"  The  organic  law  of  the  Territory  vests  in  the  people  who  reside 
in  it  the  power  to  form  all  its  municipal  regulations.  They  can  either 
admit  or  exclude  slavery,  and  this  is  the  only  question  that  materially 
affects  our  interests.  *  *  * 

"  General  Atchison  said,  that  his  mission  here  to-day  was,  if  possible, 
to  awaken  the  people  of  this  country  to  the  danger  ahead,  and  to  sug- 
gest the  means  to  avoid  it.  The  people  of  Kansas  in  their  first  election 
would  decide  the  question  whether  or  not  the  slave-holder  was  to  be 
excluded,  and  it  depended  upon  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  at  the  polls. 
Now,  if  a  set  of  fanatics  and  demagogues  a  thousand  miles  off  could 
advance  their  money  and  exert  every  nerve  to  abolitionize  the  Territory 
and  exclude  the  slave-holder  when  they  have  not  the  least  personal 
interest  in  the  matter,  what  is  your  duty  ?  When  you  reside  within 
one  day's  journey  of  the  Territory,  and  when  your  peace,  your  quiet, 
and  your  property  depend  upon  your  action,  you  can  without  an  exer- 


94  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

tion  send  five  hundred  of  your  young  men  who  will  vote  in  favor  of 
your  institutions.  Should  each  county  in  the  State  of  Missouri  only 
do  its  duty,  the  question  will  be  decided  quietly  and  peaceably  at  the 
ballot-box.  If  we  are  defeated,  then  Missouri  and  the  other  Southern 
States  will  have  shown  themselves  recreant  to  their  interests  and  will 
have  deserved  their  fate.  The  abolitionists  will  have  nothing  to  gain 
or  lose.  It  is  an  abstraction  with  them.  We  have  much  to  gain  or 
much  to  lose.  Said  he:  '  If  you  burn  my  barn,  I  sustain  a  great  loss, 
but  you  gain  nothing.  So  it  is  with  the  colonizationist  societies  and 
the  dupes  they  send  to  abolitionize  Kansas.  If  these  abolitionists  steal 
your  negroes,  they  gain  nothing.  The  negroes  are  injured;  you  are 
ruined.  So  much  greater  is  the  motive  for  activity  on  your  part.  Fel- 
low-citizens, we  should  not  be  apathetic  when  so  much  is  involved. 
\Ye  should  be  up  and  doing.'  He  was  for  meeting  organization  with 
organization.  He  was  for  meeting  these  philanthropic  knaves  peace- 
ably at  the  ballot-box,  and  out-voting  them.  If  we  cannot  do  this  it  is 
an  omen  that  the  institution  of  slavery  must  fall  in  this  and  other  South- 
ern States,  but  it  would  fall  after  much  strife,  civil  war,  and  bloodshed. 
If  abolitionism,  under  its  present  auspices,  is  established  in  Kansas, 
there  will  be  constant  strife  and  bloodshed  between  Kansas  and  Mis- 
souri. Negro  stealing  will  be  a  principle  and  a  vocation.  It  will  be 
the  policy  of  philanthropic  knaves,  until  they  force  the  slave-holder  to 
abandon  Missouri ;  nor  will  it  be  long  until  it  is  done.  You  cannot 
watch  your  stables  to  prevent  thieves  from  stealing  your  horses  and 
mules;  neither  can  you  watch  your  negro  quarters  to  prevent  your 
neighbors  from  seducing  away  and  stealing  your  negroes.  If  Kansas 
is  abolitionized,  all  men  who  love  peace  and  quiet  will  leave  us,  and  all 
emigration  to  Missouri  from  the  slave  States  will  cease.  We  will  go 
either  to  the  North  or  to  the  South.  For  himself  he  could  gather 
together  his  goods,  and  depart  as  soon  as  the  most  active  among  us. 
He  had  neither  wife  nor  child  to  impede  his  flight.  In  a  hybrid  state 
we  cannot  live ;  we  cannot  be  in  a  constant  quarrel — in  a  constant  state 
of  suspicion  of  our  own  neighbors.  This  feeling  is  entertained  by  a 
large  portion  of  mankind  everywhere.  Yet,  he  said,  he  was  willing, 
notwithstanding  his  pacific  views,  to  hang  negro  theives ;  he  would  not 
punish  those  who  merely  entertained  abstract  opinions ;  but  negro 
thieves  and  persons  who  stirred  up  insubordination  and  insurrection 
among  our  slaves,  he  believed  it  right  to  punish,  and  they  could  not 
be  punished  too  severely — he  would  not  punish  a  man  who  believed 
that  rape,  murder,  or  larceny  was  abstractly  right,  yet  he  would  punish 
the  man  who  committed  either.  It  was  not  sufficient  for  the  South  to 
talk,  but  to  act ;  to  go  peaceably  and  inhabit  the  Territory,  and  peace- 
ably to  vote  and  settle  the  question  according  to  the  principles  of  the 
Douglas  bill." 


POSITION    OF    PARTIES.  95 

Eli  Thayer,  in  his  ''  Kansas  Crusade,"  gives  his  views  of 
the  issue  on  pages  31  and  32,  as  follows : 

"  The  present  crisis  was  to  decide  whether  freedom  or  slavery  should 
rule  our  country  for  centuries  to  come.  That  slavery  was  a  great  na- 
tional curse ;  that  it  practically  ruined  one-half  of  the  nation  and  greatly 
impeded  the  progress  of  the  other  half.  That  it  was  a  curse  to  the 
negro,  but  a  much  greater  curse  to  the  white  man.  It  made  the  slave- 
holders petty  tyrants,  who  had  no  correct  idea  of  themselves  or  of  anybody 
else.  It  made  the  poor  whites  of  the  $9uth  more  abject  and  degraded 
than  the  slaves  themselves.  That  it  was  an  insurmountable  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  the  nation's  progress  and  prosperity.  That  it  must  be  over- 
come and  extirpated.  That  the  way  to  do  this  was  to  go  to  the  prairies 
of  Kansas  and  show  the  superiority  of  free-labor  civilization  ;  to  go  with 
all  our  free-labor  trophies :  churches  and  schools,  printing  presses, 
steam-engines,  and  mills  ;  and  in  a  peaceful  contest  convince  every  poor 
man  from  the  South  of  the  superiority  of  free  labor.  That  it  was  much 
better  to  go  and  do  something  for  free  labor  than  to  stay  at  home  and 
talk  of  manacles  and  auction-blocks  and  blood-hounds,  while  deploring 
the  never-ending  aggressions  of  slavery.  That  in  this  contest  the  South 
had  not  one  element  of  success.  We  had  much  greater  numbers,  and 
much  greater  wealth,  greater  readiness  of  organization,  and  better  facili- 
ties of  migration.  That  we  should  put  a  cordon  of  free  States  from 
Minnesota  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  stop  the  forming  of  sla%re  States. 
After  that  we  should  colonize  the  northern  border  slave  States  and  ex- 
terminate slavery.  That  our  work  was  not  to  make  women  and  children 
cry  in  anti-slavery  conventions,  by  sentimental  appeals,  BUT  TO  GO 
AND  PUT  AX  END  TO  SLAVERY." 

Amos  A.  Lawrence  said,  in  his  statement  before  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Historical  Society: 

' '  The  enthusiasm  increased ;  parties  were  formed  all  over  the 
Northern  States.  The  Emigrant  Aid  Company  undertook  to  give  char- 
acter and  direction  to  the  whole.  This  society  was  to  be  loyal  to  the 
Government  under  all  circumstances  ;  it  was  to  support  the  party  of 
law  and  order,  and  it  was  to  make  Kansas  a  free  State  by  bona  Jide  set- 
tlement if  at  all." 

G.  W.  Brown,  in  the  first  number  of  the  Herald  of  Free- 
dom, gives  the  position  of  the  Free-State  men  as  follows : 

"  Our  great  object  is  to  make  Kansas  a  free  State;  and  to  that  end 
we  shall  labor  by  encouraging  emigration.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to 
engage  in  a  crusade  against  our  Southern  brethren,  nor  upon  their  insti- 


96  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

tutions,  so  long  as  confined  within  their  legitimate  sphere.  Our  field  is 
A'ansas,  and  here  we  shall  labor,  and  here  shall  erect  anew  the  altar  of 
LIBERTY.  With  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence  in  one 
hand  and  the  Constitution  of  the  Republic  in  the  other,  we  engage  in  a 
defensive  warfare  for  the  Right.  We  firmly  believe  that  victory  will 
crown  the  efforts  of  the  Sons  of  Freedom ;  but  the  struggle  will  be  long 
and  arduous.  We  may  be  stricken  down  at  first,  but  not  defeated." 

While  General  Atchison's  speech  was  comparatively  con- 
servative, not  so  the  actions  of  his  subordinates  and  the  people 
of  the  border  counties  in  Missouri.  On  the  day  of  the  elec- 
tion, and  before,  they  invaded  Kansas  like  an  army  of  occu- 
pation for  the  purpose  of  voting,  and  voting  only.  They 
were  residents  of  Missouri,  and  did  not  pretend  to  be  bona 
fide  residents  of  Kansas,  or  intend  to  become  such.  This 
army  was  recruited  and  paid  as  mercenaries  to  trample  down 
the  rights  of  the  people  of  Kansas  and  pollute  their  ballot- 
boxes.  On  the  other  hand,  no  Free-State  men  were  recruited 
except  to  become  bona  fide  settlers,  and  they  received  no  pay 
whatever. 

The  leading  candidates  for  delegate  at  this  election  were 
Whitfield,  Pro-slavery ;  Fleniken,  Democrat,  and  Wakefield, 
Free  State.  The  character  of  the  election  can  be  seen  from 
the  testimony  of  H.  Miles  Moore,  now  one  of  the  most  re- 
spected citizens  of  Kansas.  He  testified  before  the  Con- 
gressional committee  as  follows : 

"  I  came  into  the  Territory  to  reside  in  September,  1855,  from 
western  Missouri,  where  I  had  resided  for  about  five  years,  practising 
as  an  attorney  at  law.  I  had  resided  in  St.  Louis  a  year  previous  to 
that.  I  came  over  to  Leavenworth  City  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1854,  to  attend  the  election  for  delegate  to  Congress.  Arrangements 
had  been  made  throughout  western  Platte  County,  and  western  Missouri 
generally,  as  I  have  been  informed,  for  the  purpose  of  going  over  there 
and  voting  at  that  election.  Messengers  had  been  sent  from  one  portion 
of  western  Missouri  to  another,  to  notify.  Meetings  had  been  held  to 
make  arrangements  to  come  over  here  on  that  day  to  vote.  For  a  day 
or  two  previous,  large  numbers  had  passed  through  Weston  to  the  Ter- 
ritory, on  horseback  and  in  wagons,  with  their  forage  and  provisions, 
from  the  counties  lower  down  on  the  north  side  of  the  river — Clinton, 


PROOF    OF    INVASION.  97 

Platte,  and  Clay  counties.  I  saw  parties  from  each  of  these  counties  at 
the  hotel ;  among  them,  men  whom  I  recognized.  The  companies  raised 
about  Weston  and  Platte  County  were  generally  sent  to  the  back  portions 
of  the  Territory.  The  lower  counties  sent  men  to  the  precincts  near  the 
border.  I  myself  came  Over  with  a  large  party  from  Weston  and  Platte 
County  to  Leavemvorth ;  a  large  crowd  was  present  then  on  the  ground. 
The  election  was  held  at  the  Leavenworth  hotel,  kept  by  Keller  £  Kyle. 
There  was  a  great  crowd  around  the  polls  all  day.  There  was  a  good 
deal  of  excitement,  and  some  quarrelling  and  fighting.  I  remained  there 
all  day  till  nearly  night.  General  Whitfield  was  the  pro-slavery  candi- 
date ;  Judge  Fleniken  was  the  Free-State  candidate.  All  our  party  from 
Weston  voted  for  Whitfield.  I  believe  I  voted  myself  that  day  for 
General  Whitfield,  but  I  do  not  see  my  name  on  the  poll-books.  I 
should  think  there  must  have  been  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two 
hundred  Missourians  who  voted  there  that  day.  The  other  Missourians 
who  came  over  said  after  they  returned,  that  they  went  to  the  i4th  and 
1 5th  districts,  and  other  districts  farther  back." 

The  number  of  votes  polled  at  this  election  was,  for  Whit- 
field, 2238;  Wakefield,  248;  Fleniken,  305;  and  scattering, 
22;  a  total  of  2833.  Of  these  votes  it  is  estimated  that 
1114  were  legal,  and  1729  illegal. 

The  majority  of  the  committee  thus  reports : 

"  Thus  your  committee  finds  that  in  this,  the  first  election  in  the 
Territory,  a  very  large  majority  of  the  votes  were  cast  by  citizens  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  in  violation  of  the  organic  law  of  the  Territory.  Of 
the  legal  votes  cast,  General  Whitfield  received  a  plurality.  The  set- 
tlers took  but  little  interest  in  the  election,  not  one-half  of  them  voting. 
This  may  be  accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  the  settlements  were  scat- 
tered over  a  great  extent,  that  the  term  of  the  delegate  to  be  elected 
was  short,  and  that  the  question  of  free  or  slave  institutions  was  not 
generally  regarded  by  them  as  distinctly  at  issue.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, a  systematic  invasion  from  an  adjoining  State,  by  which  large 
numbers  of  illegal  votes  were  cast  in  remote  and  sparse  settlements,  for 
the  avowed  purpose  of  extending  slavery  into  the  Territory,  even 
though  it  did  not  change  the  result  of  the  election,  was  a  crime  of  great 
magnitude.  Its  immediate  effect  was  further  to  excite  the  people  of 
the  Northern  States,  and  to  exasperate  the  actual  settlers  against  their 
neighbors  in  Missouri." 

At  this  time  every  considerable  settlement  in  the  Territory, 
except  Lawrence  and  vicinity,  was  pro-slavery,  and  an  in- 

7 


98  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

vasion  was  wholly  unnecessary,  as  Whitfield  could  have  been 
elected  without.  Being  unnecessary,  it  was  an  inexcusable 
blunder,  as  it  served  to  expose  the  game  the  pro-slavery  men 
proposed  to  play,  and  increased  the  agitation  and  determi- 
nation in  the  North.  The  conservatism,  as  well  as  the  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  of  the  country,  had  received  a  serious  shock 
in  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and  was  in  no 
mood  for  foul  play  in  the  game  set  by  the  slave  interest. 
Had  there  been  no  invasion  or  illegal  voting,  all  would  have 
acquiesced  in  the  election  of  Whitfield  without  a  murmur. 
This  is  one  of  a  series  of  blunders  made  by  General  Atchi- 
son's  forces  which  was  taken  advantage  of  by  Free-State 
men.  The  settlers  contented  themselves  by  making  this  pro- 
test to  the  governor: 

"  To  his  Excellency,  A.  II .  Reeder,  Governor  of  Kansas  Territory  : 

"  Believing  that  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri voted  at  the  election  of  the  2Qth  instant  for  delegate  to  Congress 
representing  Kansas  Territory,  we  respectfully  petition  your  honor  that 
the  entire  vote  of  the  district  receiving  the  votes  of  citizens  of  Missouri 
be  set  aside,  or  that  the  entire  election  be  set  aside." 

SIGNED  BY  NUMEROUS  CITIZEN  >. 

Some  of  the  pro-slavery  editors  and  people  professed  to  be 
greatly  elated  over  the  result  of  this  election,  and  to  regard 
it  as  a  test  of  strength  between  the  parties.  The  Kansas 
Herald,  published  at  Leaven  worth,  had  this  to  say : 

"  There  is  not  a  single  doubt  that  Kansas  will  be  a  slaw  State.  Our 
recent  election  shows  a  majority  in  its  favor,  ticncral  Wliitfield,  the 
pro-slavery  candidate,  had  out  of  twenty-eight  hundred  votes  polled 
twenty-two  hundred.  And  notwithstanding  the  Aid  Sotieties  have 
poured  in  hordes  of  her  paupers  for  the  purpose  of  abolitionizing  Kan- 
sas, they  either  become  initiated  in  our  institutions,  or  leave  as  fast  as 
they  arrive.  Now,  if  the  South  does  her  duty,  and  especially  Mi»»uri, 
the  Northern  hope  of  abolitionizing  Kansas  will  be  z.  p/nnifom  hope. 
******* 

"  Where  is  Lawrence,  the  reservoir  for  the  overflow  of  the  Aid 
Societies?  It  is  true  she  is  still  situated  on  the  Kaw  river,  but  is  now 
one  of  the  principal  pro-slavery  towns  in  Kansas." 


EFFECT    OF    INVASION.  99 

Other  papers  were  equally  jubilant  and  earnest  in  their 
appeals  to  the  South  to  take  possession  of  the  Territory  at 
once  with  their  slaves.  On  the  other  hand,  a  few  Northern 
papers  were  despondent  and  predicted  the  defeat  of  the  Free- 
State  cause.  Horace  Greeley  weakened,  and  said  the  chances 
that  Kansas  would  be  a  slave  State  were  as  four  to  one,  and 
he  seemed  to  "  hear  the  clanking  chains  of  human  bondage, 
and  saw  the  hideous  shambles  for  the  sale  of  human  flesh." 
However,  the  Missouri  invasion  was  treated  by  most  North- 
ern papers  as  an  outrage  to  be  denounced  and  its  repetition 
resisted  to  the  bitter  end.  Whatever  the  effect  outside  of 
Kansas,  the  boiia  fide  citizens  were  unconcerned.  All  parties 
knew  that  it  was  no  test  of  strength  and  could  have  but  little 
weight  in  settling  the  momentous  question  pending.  The 
Free-State  men  busied  themselves  with  their  work  of  cabin- 
building,  and  in  preparing  their  claims  for  spring  cultivation. 
They  were  men  who  had  counted  the  cost  and  were  not  to 
be  discouraged  by  claim  conflicts,  personal  assaults,  or  inva- 
sions at  elections.  This  election  afforded  good  grounds  for 
encouragement.  The  fact  that  the  pro-slavery  party  deemed 
it  necessary  to  import  voters  showed  that  it  had  no  confi- 
dence in  a  majority  of  settlers  of  its  own  faith,  and  the  inva- 
sion was  conclusive  evidence  that  law  was  to  be  disregarded 
whenever  it  was  supposed  to  block  the  way  to  success.  The 
bullying  and  bluster  from  the  first,  and  now  this  invasion, 
showed  conclusively  that  the  enemy,  the  Free-State  men, 
were  rated  as  inferiors  and  to  be  despised,  trodden  upon  and 
crushed  without  ceremony.  All  these  things  were  carefully 
noted  by  the  Free-State  men,  and  gave  great  hope  of  success 
in  the  final  result.  They  would  not  have  had  it  otherwise  if 
they  could,  as,  had  the  pro-slavery  men  treated  all  with 
civility  and  attended  the  elections  under  the  forms  of  law, 
coming  quietly  into  the  Territory  under  pretense  of  being 
settlers,  all  elections  could  have  been  carried  by  them  and 
no  valid  protest  could  have  been  made.  They  had  every 
advantage  ;  their  forces  resided  on  the  border,  and  as  all  were 


100  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

recent  settlers,  no  proof  could  have  been  easily  furnished 
against  them. 

In  the  months  of  January  and  February,  1855,  a  census 
was  ordered  by  the  Governor,  and  an  election  was  to  be 
held  March  3oth  for  a  territorial  Legislature.  This  election 
was  of  the  greatest  moment,  as,  according  to  the  organic  act, 
the  question  of  a  free  or  slave  State  would  most  likely  be 
settled  by  the  first  Legislature.  The  Free-State  men,  confi- 
dent of  their  majority  of  voters,  relied  upon  the  promises  of 
the  Governor  that  a  fair  election  should  be  held,  and  had  no 
fears  of  the  result.  For  the  first  time  they  held  caucuses  or 
conventions  to  agree  upon  candidates  to  be  supported.  This 
was  no  easy  matter,  as  an  effort  had  been  made  from  the 
first  to  divide  Free-State  men  into  two  hostile  camps.  For- 
tunately or  unfortunately,  three  newspapers  were  started  at 
Lawrence  in  the  early  winter,  and  all  professed  to  be  in  favor 
of  a  free  State.  However,  as  is  generally  the  case,  a  war 
sprung  up  between  them,  and  what  one  paper  advocated 
another  must  oppose.  One  paper,  edited  by  men  from  the 
West  and  South,  was  hostile  to  men  from  the  East,  and  es- 
pecially made  war  upon  everything  and  everybody  connected 
with  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company. 

The  editors  of  this  paper  affiliated  with  the  black  law  men, 
associated  on  friendly  terms  with  the  invaders  of  the  polls 
and  printed  their  tickets.  They  denounced  the  other  ed-. 
itors,  or  one  of  them,  as  not  sound  on  the  slavery  question, 
and  he  retaliated  in  kind,  On  April  26,  1855,  he  submitted 
this  proposition : 

"  \Ve  propose  that  the  pro-slavery  journal  of  this  city  get  a  chapter 
of  denunciations  against  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company  stereotyped,  to  be 
used  on  opportune  occasions.  It  must  be  a  matter  of  great  inconven- 
ience to  reset  its  type  so  often  with  the  same  ideas,  and  all  abounding 
with  much  vindictiveness.  '  The  good  trees  in  the  orchard  arc  always 
the  most  stoned.'  It  is  for  this  the  Janus-faced  pn-ss  ha>  been  so 
violent  against  certain  men  and  measures  in  this  city." 

This  newspaper  quarrel,  while  a  question  of  the  most  vital 
importance  was  pending,  disgusted  all  sincere  Free-State 


EDITORIAL    QUARRELS.  IOI 

men,  till  some  person  wrote  the  following,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  February  17,  1855  : 

"ADVICE   TO   THE   THREE    EDITORS. 

"  LAWRENCE,  February  14,  1855. 
' '  Editor  of  Herald  of  Freedom  : 

"As  a  subscriber  to  all  three  of  the  Lawrence  papers,  as  one  of  the 
earliest  pioneers  to  Kansas,  as  a  well-wisher,  and  I  trust  co-worker  in 
the  Free-State  army,  and  as  a  matter-of-fact  man,  I  am  surprised  and 
annoyed  and  heartily  sick  at  the  course  being  pursued  by  some  of  the 
city  papers.  Under  the  most  silly  and  child-like  pretexts  attacks  are 
made,  defamation  of  character  attempted,  influence  and  usefulness  sought 
to  be  circumscribed,  and  the  '  rule  or  ruin  '  principle  endeavored  to  be 
carried  into  effect.  *  *  * 

"In  your  private  jealousies,  your  petty  feuds,  family  jars,  contempt- 
ible bickerings,  insolent  calumniation,  and  harsh  epithets,  we  have  little 
or  no  interest,  and  they  only  beget  disgust.  We  seek  information,  we 
desire  respectability  in  our  papers,  and  wish  not  to  be  ashamed  to  trans- 
mit them  to  our  friends  at  a  distance. 

"  While  anxious  inquiries  are  hourly  being  made  about  Kansas  from 
abroad,  her  soil,  her  climate,  her  timber,  her  stone,  her  coal,  water, 
commercial  advantages,  and  the  probable  introduction  of  slavery  therein, 
none  are  made  as  to  the  animosities,  animadversion,  or  antipathy  exist- 
ing between  Messrs.  Brown,  Miller,  and  Elliot,  and  the  Brothers  Speer, 
severally  editors  and  proprietors  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  F'ree  State, 
and  Tribune.  Gentlemen  and  brethren,  if  you  cannot  see  alike,  each 
see  for  yourself.  If  some  of  you  desire  to  be  more  radical  than  your 
more  conservative  brother,  it  is  your  privilege.  A  generous  and  ap- 
preciating public  will  award  to  you  that  merit  you  deserve,  whether  you 
take  either  extreme,  or  a  middle  course  between  two.  Were  I  not  re- 
echoing the  feelings  of  four-fifths  of  all  your  subscribers,  a  delicacy 
would  prevent  the  plainness  of  this  article.  You  all  profess  to  be  bat 
tling  for  the  one  common  cause,  '  Freedom  for  Kansas.'  Do  so  honestly, 
peacefully,  determinately,  and  successfully,  and  each  in  your  own  way. 
If  wrong  has  been  done  you,  seek  redress  elsewhere  than  through  your 
own  columns.  If  you  have  been  insulted  and  must  resent  it,  fight  it 
out  hand  to  hand,  and  not  embroil  your  readers  in  the  'muss.'  In  the 
settling  of  your  difficulties  you  must  help  yourselves.  In  making  Kan- 
sas free,  you  will  always  have  the  help  of 

"A  CONSERVATIVE." 

At  length  the  conflicting  elements  were  sufficiently  harmo- 
nized to  present  but  one  ticket  to  be  voted  for,  instead  of 


102  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

two,  as  at  the  election  of  delegate  to  Congress.  While  the 
Free-State  elements  were  being  conciliated  and  united,  the 
pro-slavery  men  were  earnestly  at  work.  The  border  and 
territorial  pro-slavery  press  sounded  the  alarm,  beat  their 
tom-toms  and  gongs,  and  rallied  the  faithful  to  the  rescue. 
The  Frontier  News,  of  Westport,  Missouri,  as  published  in 
the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  February  17,  1855,  had  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  KANSAS— THE   ELECTION    CRISIS. 

"  The  election  which  is  ultimately  to  decide  the  destiny  of  Kansas  is 
at  hand  :  the  census  has  been  ordered,  and  the  returns  will  be  made  on 
the  gth  instant.  Let  the  day  of  election  come  when  it  may,  'tis  the 
result  of  that  day's  work  which  finally  determines  the  institutions  of  the 
Territory,  and  the  future  State.  It  is  therefore  into  this  battle,  heart 
and  soul,  that  our  Southern  friends  must  throw  themselves.  The 
triumphant  election  of  our  delegate,  though  of  no  political  importance 
as  far  as  the  great  cause  is  concerned,  yet  acted  as  a  powerful  prestige, 
both  to,  ourselves  and  to  our  abolition  foes.  Greeley  was  disheartened, 
declared  that  there  were  four  chances  to  one  in  favor  of  Kansas  being 
a  slave  State  ;  and  already  heard  'the  clanking  chains  of  human  bondage, 
and  saw  the  hideous  shambles  for  the  sale  of  human  flesh.'  But  this 
triumph  was  a  mere  skirmish,  calculated  to  lull  the  energies  of  the  South 
into  a  peaceful  slumber.  The  real  battle,  the  decisive  conflict,  has  yet 
to  be  fought ;  and  think  you,  Southerners,  if  we  lose  it,  that  the  South 
can  ever  again  obtain  a  foothold  in  the  Territory?  Vain  thought!  The 
code  of  Lawrence,  digested  by  Messrs.  Robinson,  Thayer  and  Com- 
pany, and  enforced  by  abolition  tyrants,  will  be  the  code  of  Kansas  ; 
and  the  chivalric  South  must  bow  beneath  the  yoke.  How  galling, 
how  degrading  to  a  sense  of  your  manhood!  Are  you  men?  Then 
gird  up  your  loins,  be  up  and  doing;  remember,  that  which  has  been 
done  once  can  be  done  again. 

"  It  is  now  time  for  the  South  to  rally;  to  wait  no  longer  with  folded 
arms  for  'signs  of  the  times,'  but  go  to  work  boldly,  fearlessly,  and 
with  a  sustained  buoyancy  of  spirit  and  fixedness  of  purpose  to  secure 
their  great  end. 

"  Southerners,  you  will  baptize  in  a  pond,  and  tar  and  feather  a 
poor  devil  who  believes  he  is  doing  (lod  service  when  he  persuades  a 
slave  to  escape,  and  yet  you  will  look  on  supimly  when  the  whole  insti- 
tution is  threatened  with  extermination — and  stand  by  and  see  with 
composure  a  '  paradisiacal  garden'  marked  and  dedicated  as  an  asylum 
for  decoyed,  stolen,  and  runaway  slaves.  Big-hearted  but  feeble- 


ELECTION  OF  LEGISLATURE.  103 

handed,  you  would  look  on,  shedding  tears  of  impotence  and  self-con- 
tempt. 

4 '  Freemen  of  the  South,  pioneers  of  the  West,  '  these  are  the  times 
that  try  men's  souls.'  This  is  the  twelfth  hour  of  the  night — birds  of 
darkness  are  on  the  wing — the  day  will  soon  dawn — the  battle  will  soon 
commence.  Arouse  and  fight  a  good  fight!  Let  the  eagle  of  victory 
perch  upon  your  banners.  Steady,  men!  Forward!" 

The  Leavenworth  Herald  said : 

"  Remember  that  free-soilers  and  abolitionists  have  combined  under 
the  name  of  Free  State,  and  boldly  proclaim  their  hostility  to  the  Douglas 
bill,  and  their  defense  of  the  Aid  Societies!  Such,  ye  Old  Guard  of 
the  West,  is  the  progress  of  the  lying  and  dastardly  crew  you  have  to 
contend  against.  Saith  the  common  law  :  When  any  number  of  persons 
band  themselves  together  for  a  common  object  detrimental  to  the  inter- 
est of  any  body,  it  is  conspiracy!  We  say  boldly  that  by  law,  all  per- 
sons having  connection  with  the  Aid  Societies  are  conspirators,  and 
subject  to  indictment  and  conviction  as  such.  They  are  criminals,  and 
beside  openly  deny  the  powers  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  consequently  by  their  own  acts  have  thrown  themselves  out  of  the 
protection  of  law." 

Stringfellow,  in   a   speech  at  St.  Joseph,  is  reported  as 

saying : 

"I  tell  you  to  mark  every  scoundrel  among  you  that  is  the  least 
tainted  with  free-soilism  or  abolitionism,  and  exterminate  him.  Neither 
give  nor  take  quarter  from  the  d — d  rascals.  I  propose  to  mark  them 
in  this  house,  and  on  the  present  occasion,  so  you  may  crush  them  out. 
To  those  who  have  qualms  of  conscience  as  to  violating  laws,  State  or 
national,  the  time  has  come  when  such  impositions  must  be  disregarded, 
as  your  rights  and  property  are  in  danger ;  and  I  advise  you,  one  and 
all,  to  enter  every  election  district  in  Kansas,  in  defiance  of  Reeder 
and  his  vile  myrmidons,  and  vote  at  the  point  of  the  bowie-knife  and 
revolver.  Neither  give  nor  take  quarter,  as  our  cause  demands  it.  It 
is  enough  that  the  slave-holding  interest  wills  it,  from  which  there  is 
no  appeal.  What  right  has  Governor  Reeder  to  rule  Missourians  in 
Kansas?  His  proclamation  and  prescribed  oath  must  be  repudiated. 
It  is  your  interest  to  do  so.  Mind  that  slavery  is  established  where  it 
is  not  prohibited." 

At  length  came  election  day,  the  3oth  of  March,  and  with 
it  an  invading  horde  from  Missouri.  They  came  with  great 


104  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ostentation,  with  arms  of  every  description,  including  can- 
non. They  were  detailed  to  every  district  in  sufficient 
numbers  to  secure  every  member  of  the  Legislature  should 
their  votes  be  counted.  They  paid  little  attention  to  for- 
mality, and  less  to  legality.  So  open,  unblushing,  and  over- 
whelming was  the  demonstration,  that  it  defeated  itself.  It 
required  no  search  for  testimony  to  prove  its  illegality  in  a 
contest,  as  the  invaders  brought  the  proof  with  them  and 
proclaimed  it  to  all  the  world.  This  was  very  satisfactory  to 
the  Free-State  men,  and  most  of  them  looked  on  without 
effort  to  prevent  the  illegal  voting,  except  in  a  formal  wax- 
by  entering  protest  before  the  judges  of  election.  The  affair 
was  thus  described  in  the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  the  next 
day: 

"  Of  the  disgraceful  proceedings  in  this  place  on  Friday  last,  by 
which  the  ballot-box  was  converted  into  an  engine  of  oppression,  we 
have  hardly  patience  to  write.  To  see  hundreds  of  hired  mercenaries 
on  horseback,  on  foot,  and  in  wagons  and  carriages,  coming  into  Kan- 
sas in  a  body  from  an  adjoining  State,  and  expressing  a  determination 
to  return  so  soon  as  they  shall  have  polluted  the  freeman's  safeguard 
with  their  touch,  and  to  see  that  purpose  fulfilled  without  any  action 
whatever  showing  an  intention  to  remain  here  for  a  single  hour  after 
they  shall  have  cast  a  ballot  is,  to  say  the  least,  enough  to  make  a  Re- 
publican ashamed  of  his  national  connections  ;  and  were  he  not  strongly 
wedded  to  the  Federal  Constitution,  in  a  moment  of  vexation  he  might 
be  led  to  exclaim  that  he  desired. 'no  union  with  such  base  mercena- 


The  majority  report  of  the  Congressional  Committee  is 
based  upon  the  testimony  of  both  parties,  and  is  a  revelation 
new  to  republican  government.  A  few  extracts  only  arc- 
given.  It  says: 

"  By  an  organized  movement,  which  extended  from  Andrew  County 
in  the  north,  to  Jasper  County  in  the  south,  and  as  far  eastward  a- 
Boone  and  Cole  counties,  Missouri,  companies  of  men  were  arranged 
in  irregular  parties,  and  sent  into  every  council  district  in  the  Territory 
nnd  into  every  representative  district  but  one.  The  members  \\ . 
distributed  as  to  control  the  election  in  each  district.  They  went  to 
vote,  and  with  the  avowed  design  to  make  Kansas  a  slave  State.  They 


COMMITTEE'S    REPORT.  105 

were  generally  armed  and  equipped,  carried  with  them  their  own  provi- 
sions and  tents,  and  so  marched  into  the  Territory.  The  details  of  this 
invasion  form  the  mass  of  the  testimony  taken  by  your  committee,  and 
are  so  voluminous  that  we  can  here  state  but  the  leading  facts  elicited. 

"  First  District. — Lawrence. 

"  The  company  of  persons  who  marched  into  this  district  was  col- 
lected in  Ray,  Howard,  Carroll,  Boone,  Lafayette,  Randolph,  Macon, 
Clay,  Jackson,  Saline,  and  Cass  counties,  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 
Their  expenses  were  paid ;  those  who  could  not  come  contributing 
provisions,  wagons,  etc.  Provisions  were  deposited  for  those  who  were 
expected  to  come  to  Lawrence  in  the  house  of  William  Lykins,  and 
were  distributed  among  the  Missourians  after  they  arrived  there.  The 
evening  before,  and  the  morning  of  the  day  of  election,  about  one 
thousand  men  from  the  above  counties  arrived  at  Lawrence,  and  camped 
in  a  ravine  a  short  distance  from  town,  near  the  place  of  voting.  They 
came  in  wagons  (of  which  there  were  over  one  hundred)  and  on  horse- 
back, under  the  command  of  Colonel  Samuel  Young,  of  Boone  County, 
Missouri,  and  Claiborne  F.  Jackson,  of  Missouri.  They  were  armed 
with  guns,  rifles,  pistols,  and  bowie-knives  ;  and  had  tents,  music,  and 
flags  with  them.  They  brought  with  them  two  pieces  of  artillery,  loaded 
with  musket-balls.  On  their  way  to  Lawrence  some  of  them  met  Mr. 
N.  B.  Blanton,  who  had  been  appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  election 
by  Governor  Reeder,  and  after  learning  from  him  that  he  considered  it 
his  duty  to  demand  an  oath  from  them  as  to  their  place  of  residence, 
first  attempted  to  bribe  him,  and  then  threatened  him  with  hanging,  in 
order  to  induce  him  to  dispense  with  that  oath.  In  consequence  of  these 
threats  he  did  not  appear  at  the  polls  the  next  morning  to  act  as  judge. 

"  The  evening  before  the  election,  while  in  camp,  the  Missourians 
were  called  together  at  the  tent  of  Captain  Claiborne  F.  Jackson,  and 
speeches  were  made  to  them  by  Colonel  Young  and  others,  calling  for 
volunteers  to  go  to  other  districts  where  there  were  not  Missourians 
enough  to  control  the  election,  as  there  were  more  at  Lawrence  than 
were  needed  there.  Many  volunteered  to  go,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  election  several  companies,  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hun- 
dred each,  went  off  to  Tecumseh,  Hickory  Point,  Bloomington,  and 
other  places.  On  the  morning  of  the  election  the  Missourians  came 
over  to  the  place  of  voting  from  their  camp,  in  bodies  of  one  hundred 
at  a  time.  Mr.  Blanton  not  appearing,  another  judge  was  appointed  in 
his  place,  Colonel  Young  claiming  that,  as  the  people  of  the  Territory 
had  two  judges,  it  was  nothing  more  than  right  that  the  Missourians 
should  have  the  other  one  to  look  after  their  interests  ;  and  Robert  A. 
Cummins  was  elected  in  Blanton's  stead,  because  he  considered  that 
every  man  had  a  right  to  vote  if  he  had  been  in  the  Territory  but  an 
hour. 


106  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  The  Missourians  brought  their  tickets  with  them;  but  not  having 
enough,  they  had  three  hundred  more  printed  in  Lawrence  on  the  even- 
ing before  and  on  the  day  of  election.  They  had  white  ribbons  in  their 
button-holes  to  distinguish  them  from  the  settlers. 

"  When  the  voting  commenced,  the  question  of  the  legality  of  the 
vote  of  a  Mr.  Page  was  raised.  Before  it  was  decided,  Colonel  Samuel 
Young  stepped  up  to  the  window  where  the  votes  were  received,  and 
said  he  would  settle  the  matter.  The  vote  of  Mr.  Page  was  withdrawn, 
and  Colonel  Young  offered  to  vote.  He  refused  to  take  the  oath  pre- 
scribed by  the  Governor,  but  swore  he  was  a  resident  of  the  Territory ; 
upon  which  his  vote  was  received.  He  told  Mr.  Abbott,  one  of  the 
judges,  when  asked  if  he  intended  to  make  Kansas  his  future  home, 
that  it  was  none  of  his  business ;  that  if  he  were  a  resident  then  he 
should  ask  no  more.  After  his  vote  was  received  Colonel  Young  got 
up  on  the  window-sill,  and  announced  to  the  crowd  that  he  had  been 
permitted  to  vote,  and  they  could  all  come  up  and  vote.  He  told  the 
judges  that  there  was  no  use  in  swearing  the  others,  as  they  would  all 
swear  as  he  had  done.  After  ihe  other  judges  had  concluded  to  receive 
Colonel  Young's  vote,  Mr.  Abbott  resigned  as  judge  of  election,  and 
Mr.  Benjamin  was  elected  in  his  place. 

"  The  polls  were  so  much  crowded  till  late  in  the  evening  that  for  a 
time,  when  the  men  had  voted,  they  were  obliged  to  get  out  by  being 
hoisted  up  on  the  roof  of  the  building  where  the  election  was  being  held, 
and  passing  out  over  the  house.  Afterwards,  a  passage-way  through  the 
crowd  was  made  by  two  lines  of  men  being  formed,  through  which  the 
voters  could  get  up  to  the  polls.  Colonel  Young  asked  that  the  old  men 
be  allowed  to  go  up  first  and  vote,  as  they  were  tired  with  the  travel- 
ing, and  wanted  to  get  back  to  camp.  The  Missourians  sometimes 
came  up  to  the  polls  in  procession,  two  by  two,  and  voted.  During 
the  day  the  Missourians  drove  off  the  ground  some  of  the  citizens — Mr. 
Stearns,  Mr.  Bond,  and  Mr.  Willis.  They  threatened  to  shoot  Mr. 
Bond,  and  a  crowd  rushed  after  him,  threatening  him ;  and  as  he  ran 
after  them  some  shots  were  fired  at  him  as  he  jumped  off  the  bank  of 
the  river  and  made  his  escape.  The  citizens  of  the  town  went  over  in 
a  body  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  polls  had  become  comparatively 
clear,  and  voted. 

"  Before  the  voting  had  commenced,  the  Missourians  said  if  the 
judges  appointed  by  the  Governor  did  not  receive  their  votes  they  would 
choose  other  judges.  Some  of  them  voted  several  times,  changing 
their  hats  or  coats  and  coming  up  to  the  window  again.  They  said  they 
intended  to  vote  first,  and  after  they  had  got  through  the  others  could 
vote.  Some  of  them  claimed  a  right  to  vote  under  the  organic  act, 
from  the  fact  that  their  mere  presence  in  the  Territory  constituted  them 
residents,  though  they  were  from  Missouri  and  had  homes  in  Missouri. 


REPORT    CONTINUED.  1 07 

Others  said  they  had  a  right  to  vote  because  Kansas  belonged  to  Mis- 
souri, and  people  from  the  East  had  no  right  to  settle  in  the  Territory 
and  vote  there.  They  said  they  came  to  the  Territory  to  elect  a  Legis- 
lature to  suit  themselves,  as  the  people  of  the  Territory  and  persons 
from  the  East  and  the  North  wanted  to  elect  a  Legislature  that  would 
not  suit  them.  They  said  they  had  a  right  to  make  Kansas  a  slave 
State,  because  the  people  of  the  North  had  sent  persons  out  to  make  it 
a  free  State.  Some  claimed  that  they  hr.d  heard  that  the  Emigrant  Aid 
Society  had  sent  men  out  to  be  at  the  election,  and  they  came  to  offset 
their  votes  :  but  the  most  of  them  made  no  such  claim.  Colonel  Young 
said  he  wanted  the  citizens  to  vote,  in  order  to  give  the  election  some 
show  of  fairness.  The  Missourians  said  there  would  be  no  difficulty  if 
the  citizens  did  not  interfere  with  their  voting ;  but  they  were  deter- 
i..ined  to  vote  peaceably,  if  they  could,  but  vote  any  how.  They  said 
each  one  of  them  was  prepared  for  eight  rounds  without  loading,  and 
would  go  to  the  ninth  round  with  the  butcher-knife.  Some  of  them 
raid  that  by  voting  in  the  Territory  they  would  deprive  themselves  of 
the  right  to  vote  in  Missouri  for  twelve  months  afterwards.  The  Mis- 
sourians began  to  leave  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  election,  though 
some  did  not  go  home  until  the  next  morning.  In  many  cases,  when 
a  wagon-load  voted  they  immediately  started  for  home.  On  their  way 
home  they  said  if  Governor  Reeder  did  not  sanction  the  election  they 
would  hang  him. 

"  The  citizens  of  the  town  of  Lawrence,  as  a  general  thing,  were 
not  armed  on  the  day  of  election,  though  some  had  revolvers,  but  not 
exposed  as  were  the  arms  of  the  Missourians.  They  kept  a  guard 
about  the  town  the  night  after  the  election,  in  consequence  of  the  threats 
of  the  Missourians,  in  order  to  protect  it.  The  pro-slavery  men  of  the 
district  attended  the  nominating  conventions  of  the  Free-State  men,  and 
voted  for  and  secured  the  nominations  of  men  they  considered  the  most 
obnoxious  to  the  Free-State  party,  in  order  to  cause  dissension  in  that 
party.  Quite  a  number  of  settlers  came  into  the  district  before  the  day 
of  election,  and  after  the  census  was  taken.  According  to  the  census 
returns,  there  were  then  in  the  district  369  legal  voters.  Of  those 
whose  names  are  on  the  census  returns,  117  are  to  be  found  on  the 
poll-books  of  the  3Oth  of  March,  1855.  Messrs.  Ladd,  Babcock,  and 
Pratt  testify  to  fifty-five  names  on  the  poll-books  of  persons  they  knew 
to  have  settled  in  the  district  after  the  census  was  taken,  and  before 
election.  A  number  of  persons  came  into  the  Territory  in  March  be- 
fore the  election,  from  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  intending  to 
settle,  who  were  in  Lawrence  on  the  day  of  election.  At  that  time 
many  of  them  had  selected  no  claims,  and  had  no  fixed  place  of  resi- 
dence. Such  were  not  entitled  to  vote.  Many  of  them  became  dissatis- 
fied with  the  country.  Others  were  disappointed  at  its  political  condi- 


I08  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

tion,  and  in  the  price  and  demand  for  labor,  and  returned.  Whether 
any  such  voted  at  the  election  is  not  clearly  shown ;  but  from  the  proof, 
it  is  probable  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  after  the  great  body  of 
Missourians  had  voted,  some  did  go  to  the  polls.  The  number  \vas  n»; 
over  fifty.  These  voted  the  Free-State  ticket.  The  whole  number  of 
names  appearing  upon  the  poll-lists  is  1034.  After  full  examination, 
we  are  satisfied  that  not  over  232  of  these  were  legal  voters,  and  802 
were  non-residents  and  illegal  voters.  This  district  is  strongly  in  favor 
of  making  Kansas  a  free  State,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Free- 
State  candidates  for  the  Legislature  would  have  been  elected  by  large 
majorities  if  none  but  the  actual  settlers  had  voted.  At  the  preceding 
election,  in  November,  1854,  where  none  but  legal  votes  were  polled, 
General  Whitfield,  who  received  the  full  strength  of  the  pro-slavery 
party,  got  but  forty-six  votes." 

Here  was  a  pretended  election  in  open  defiance  of  the 
organic  act,  the  Constitution  and  all  law,  and  what  could  or 
would  be  done  about  it  ?  The  Free-State  men  demanded 
that  the  whole  farce  should  be  ignored  and  a  day  set  for 
another  election.  It  was  true,  a  provision  had  been  made 
by  the  Governor  for  contests,  in  detail,  but  under  the  circum- 
stances it  was  impracticable  and  unnecessary.  The  Governor 
resided  at  the  Shawnee  Mission,  near  the  border  of  Missouri, 
and  might  have  had  ocular  demonstration  of  the  invasion  if 
he  had  kept  his  eyes  open.  The  bona  //</<"  settlers  had  a  right 
to  believe,  from  his  previous  pledges,  that  such  an  election 
would  be  ignored.  In  reply  to  a  letter  in  the  fall  previous 
from  citizens  of  Leavenworth,  he  used  words  of  no  ambigu- 
ous interpretation.  In  this  reply,  dated  November  21,  1854, 
he  said : 

"  The  pledges  of  that  law  must  be  redeemed  ;  and  it  were  a  poor  and 
pitiless  boon  to  have  escaped  from  the  domination  of  Congress,  if  we 
are  only  to  pass  under  the  hands  of  another  set  of  self-constituted 
rulers,  foreign  to  our  soil,  and  sharing  none  of  cur  burdens,  no  matter 
what  may  be  their  virtues  or  their  worth  as  men  and  citi/ens  at  home. 
It  may  be  very  desirable  for  gentlemen  to  live  among  the  comforts  of 
the  States,  with  all  the  accumulated  conveniences  and  luxuries  of  an  old 
home,  and  make  an  occasional  expedition  into  our  Territory  to  :irr::ni"- 
our  affairs — instruct  our  people  and  public  officers,  and  control  our 
government;  but  it  does  not  suit  tts,  and  I  much  mistake  the  people  of 


REEDER'S    REPLY.  1 09 

this  Territory  if  they  submit  to  it.  One  thing  I  am  certain  of,  that 
having  sworn  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office  of  Governor  with  fidel- 
'ty,  I  .shall  denounce  and  resist  it  in  friend  or  foe,  and  without  regard 
to  the  locality,  the  party,  the  faction,  or  the  ism  from  which  it  comes. 

"  Thus  much  the  citizens  of  Kansas  have  a  right  to  demand  at  my 
hands,  and  to  fail  in  it  would  be  the  baldest  dereliction  of  official  duty. 
We  believe  that  we  are  competent  to  govern  ourselves  ;  and  as  we  must 
bear  the  consequences  of  our  own  errors,  and  reap  the  fruit  of  our  own 
decisions,  we  must  decline  any  gratuitous  help  in  making  them. 

"  We  shall  always  be  glad  to  see  our  neighbors  across  the  river  as 
friends  and  visitors  among  us,  and  will  endeavor  to  treat  them  with 
kindness  and  hospitality.  We  shall  be  still  more  pleased  if  they  will 
abandon  their  present  homes  and  dot  our  beautiful  country  with  their 
residences  to  contribute  to  our  wealth  and  progress  ;  but  until  they  do 
the  latter,  we  must  respectfully,  but  determinedly,  decline  to  allow  them 
any  participation  in  regulating  our  affairs. 

"  When  that  is  to  be  done,  we  insist  that  they  shall  stand  aside  and 
permit  us  to  do  the  work  ourselves. 

"  This,  gentlemen,  with  due  respect  for  you  personally,  is  the  only 
reply  I  shall  give  to  the  suggestions  in  behalf  of  your  meeting  relative 
to  the  time  and  manner  of  taking  our  census  and  holding  our  election. 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  A.  H.  REEDER. 

"  To  F.  Gwinner,  D.  A.  X.  Grover,  C.  Miller,  Wm.  F.  Dyer,  and 
Alfred  Jones,  Esqrs.,  Cemmittet." 

Here  was  language  worthy  of  a  Jackson,  and  the  people 
of  the  Territory  supposed  that  a  Jackson  was  behind  it. 
When,  therefore,  Mr.  Pomeroy  sent  word  to  Robinson  that 
the  Governor  would  like  to  have  some  friends  near  when  he 
should  declare  the  result  of  the  election,  a  dozen  men  from 
Lawrence  went  immediately  to  his  headquarters,  ready  to 
die  with  him  if  necessary  while  in  the  discharge  of  his  official 
duty. 

But  what  was  their  disappointment  and  chagrin  when? 
after  guarding  him  for  about  two  days,  he  decided  to  issue 
certificates  of  election  to  a  large  majority  of  persons  chosen 
by  the  invaders.  Charity  would  plead  ignorance  as  his  ex- 
cuse, but  even  that  plea  cannot  be  entertained,  for  out  of  his 
o\vn  mouth  is  he  condemned.  In  a  speech  at  Easton,  on 


I  10  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  3oth  of  April,  he  did  not  plead  lack  of  information.  The 
Boston  Atlas  thus  comments  on  the  speech  and  invasion,  as 
published  in  the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  May  26,  1855  : 

"THE    KANSAS    OUTRAGES. 

"  In  the  address  of  Governor  Reeder  at  Easton,  on  the  3Oth  of  April, 
is  the  fullest  official  confirmation  of  the  lawless  violence  with  which  the 
legal  rights  of  the  free  citizens  of  this  Territory  have  been  trampled  in 
the  dust.  Here  we  have  a  witness  of  the  most  unimpeachable  veracity 
— such  an  one  as  even  the  Boston  Post  or  the  Concord  Patriot  must 
admit  to  be  authority  of  the  very  highest  and  most  indisputable  char- 
acter. An  Administration  Democrat  of  the  straightest  sect,  appointed 
by  the  President  to  the  post  of  Governor  of  this  Territory — a  believer, 
even  now,  in  that  hollow  mockery  miscalled  '  popular  sovereignty,'  and 
an  advocate  of  this  principle  in  the  Nebraska  lull.  Against  sucli  a  wit- 
ness what  whisper  of  doubt  can  these  journals  urge?  None  whatever. 
They  cannot  but  receive  his  testimony.  And  what  is  that  testimony? 
Is  it  that  these  outrages  have  been  provoked  by  the  eagerness  of  the 
advocates  of  free  territory,  and  therefore  to  some  extent  excusable,  as 
the  Post  would  have  its  readers  infer?  Does  he  cast,  even  by  imputa- 
tion, the  smallest  blame  upon  the  outraged  citizens  at  Kansas?  No! 
He  is  open,  explicit,  dignified,  and  manly.  He  plainly  and  boldly  puts 
the  whole  wrong  just  where  it  belongs.  He  tells  the  citizens  of  Easton 
that  the  people  of  the  border  counties  of  North  Missouri  have  filled  him 
with  amazement  '  by  their  reckless  disregard  of  all  laws,  compacts,  and 
constitutions,'  that  '  the  Territory  of  Kansas  has  been  invaded  by  an 
organized  army,  armed  to  the  teeth,  who  took  possession  of  her  ballot- 
boxes  and  made  a  Legislature  to  suit  themselves!  ' 

"  He  testifies  to  the  already  established  fact  that  on  that  occasion 
'  Kansas  was  subdued,  subjugated,  and  conquered  by  armed  men  from 
Missouri.'  He  told  his  hearers  that  the  solemn  duty  devolved  upon 
the  North  '  to  vindicate  and  sustain  the  rights  of  her  sons  who  had 
settled  in  Kansas  on  the  faith  of  solemn  contracts.'  He  also  declared 
'  that  the  accounts  of  the  fierce  outrage  and  wild  violence  perpetrated  at 
the  election,  and  published  in  the  Northern  papers,  were  in  nowi.se 
exaggerated.'  He  concluded  by  saying  that  Kansas  was  now  a  con- 
quered country — conquered  by  force  of  arms,  but  that  the  citizens  were 
resolved  never  to  yield  their  rights,  and  relied  upon  the  North  to  aid 
them  by  demonstrations  of  public  sentiment,  and  all  other  legal  means, 
until  they  shall  be  fully  and  triumphantly  vindicated." 

Here  Governor  Reeder  is  reported  as  saying  that  the 
"  citizens  were  resolved  never  to  yield  their  rights,"  and  most 


THE    CRIMS.  Ill 

fortunate  would  it  be  for  his  memory  if  it  could  be  truth- 
fully  said  that  he  had  not  yielded  them  in  their  stead.  But 
the  practical  question  was  what  could  be  done  for  a  free 
State  in  future  ?  The  Legislature,  by  the  organic  act,  had 
power  to  settle  this  question  by  special  and  explicit  authority. 
This  body  could  enact  a  slave  code,  provide  for  all  future 
elections  to  be  controlled  by  its  own  appointees,  including 
one  for  a  constitutional  convention,  as  in  fact  it  proceeded 
to  do.  No  further  invasion  would  be  needed,  as  "  returning 
boards  "  would  answer  every  purpose.  It  was  evident  that, 
should  this  election  be  acquiesced  in  with  its  results,  the 
question  at  issue  was  finally  disposed  of.  Should  all  hope 
be  abandoned,  and  if  not,  what  policy  should  be  adopted 
and  what  action  taken  ?  If  a  stand  was  ever  to  be  made  for 
a  free  State,  should  it  be  at  the  beginning  or  at  the  end  of 
the  programme  of  the  Slave-State  party  ?  If  at  the  begin- 
ning, the  battle  must  be  fought  in  Kansas ;  if  at  the  end,  it 
must  be  in  Congress.  But  as  Congress  had  uniformly  failed 
to  accomplish  anything  for  freedom  for  a  generation,  hope 
in  that  direction  was  vain.  Had  it  not  just  broken  down 
the  barrier  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  told  the  people 
of  the  world,  including  the  State  of  Missouri,  that  it  would 
admit  Kansas  and  Nebraska  to  the  Union,  with  or  without 
slavery,  as  their  constitutions  might  provide  ?  Evidently,  if 
this  battle  was  to  be  fought  in  Congress,  the  Free-State 
settlers  had  made  a  mistake  in  coming  to  Kansas,  and  had 
better  go  back  East  if  they  did  not  want  to  live  in  a  slave 
State.  But  if  the  conflict  was  to  be  settled  in  Kansas,  what 
steps  were  to  be  taken  ?  The  first  was  to  be  repudiation  of 
the  fraud.  Should  this  be  attempted,  a  case  must  be  made 
out  satisfactory  to  the  civilized  world,  or  the  repudiators 
would  be  repudiated  and  fail.  As  has  already  appeared,  this 
conflict  involved  the  entire  nation.  The  pro-slavery  party 
were  dependent  upon  their  friends  in  the  South  for  sympathy, 
material  aid,  and  recruits,  as  was  the  Free-State  party  upon 
the  North.  Fortunately  this  invasion,  as  proclaimed  by  the 


112  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

pro-slavery  press,  both  before  and  after  the  outrage,  saved 
all  trouble  of  procuring  evidence  or  presentation  of  the  case 
to  the  jury.  Quotations  of  utterances  before  the  so-called 
election  have  been  already  given,  which  show  the  intent, 
and  a  few  are  quoted  that  followed  as  a  plea  of  guilty  to 
the  actual  commission  of  the  crime. 

The  following,  from  the  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Republican,  of 
3ist  March,  the  day  after  the  election,  tells  how  the  irrup- 
tionists  rejoiced  over  their  mob  triumph.  It  is  a  dispatch 
from  Independence  to  the  Eastern  press : 

"  Several  hundred  returning  emigrants  from  Kansas  have  just 
entered  our  city.  They  were  preceded  by  the  Westport  and  Independ- 
ence brass  bands.  They  came  in  at  the  west  side  of  the  public  square 
and  proceeded  entirely  around  it,  the  bands  cheering  us  with  fine  music, 
and  the  emigrants  with  good  news.  Immediately  following  the  band 
were  about  two  hundred  horsemen,  in  regular  order ;  following  these 
were  one  hundred  and  fifty  wagons,  carriages,  etc.  They  gave  repeated 
cheers  for  Kansas  and  Missouri.  They  report  that  not  an  anti-slavery 
man  will  be  in  the  Legislature  of  Kansas.  We  have  made  a  clean 
sweep." 

The  following  was  issued  in  the  shape  of  an  extra  from 
the  Richfield,  Mo.,  Enterprise  office,  of  date  April  2,  1885, 
and  was  headed  in  large  capitals  in  display  lines : 

"O!  K!  on  the  Goose  Question.  All  Hail!  Pro-slavery  Party 
Victorious ! !  The  Smoke  of  the  Battle  is  Over. 

"  Friday,  the  3Oth  ult.,  was  a  proud  and  glorious  day — one  long  to 
be  remembered ;  the  triumph  of  the  pro-slavery  party  is  overwhelming 
and  complete. 

"  Come  on,  Southern  men  ;  bring  your  slaves  and  fill  up  the  Territory. 
Kansas  is  saved!  Abolition  is  rebuked,  her  fortress  stormed,  her  (lag 
is  dragging  in  the  dust!  The  tri-colored  platform  has  fallen  with  a 
crash ;  the  rotten  timbers  of  its  structure  were  not  sufficient  to  sustain 
the  small  fragments  of  the  party. 

"  Kansas  has  proved  herself  to  be  S.  Q.  G.     *     *     * 

"  From  the  best  information  we  have  received,  the  pro-slavery  party 
have  carried  their  tickets  in  every  district  by  a  vote  so  decisive  that 
the  free-soil  party  will  return  to  their  masters,  Thayer  and  Company. 

"  The  election  passed  off  quietly,  without  the  slightest  disturbance. 
There  were  on  the  ground  from  1200  to  1500  persons.  No  man  can 


INVASION    CONFESSED.  113 

say  that  he  was  crowded  from  the  polls.  Our  opponents  are  chopfallen  ; 
they  look  most  dolefully,  they  talk  most  hopelessly,  and  feel,  no  doubt, 
awfully  bad.'' 

The  Independence,  Mo.,  Messenger,   took  up   the  same 

strain : 

"  KANSAS   ELECTION. 

"  On  the  3Oth  ult.,  the  second  political  battle  between  slavery  and 
abolitionism  was  fought,  and  abolitionism  driven  to  the  bush.  The 
victory  of  the  pro-slavery  party  was  complete,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  question  is  now  settled  forever  in  that  Territory.  The  fanatical 
propagandists  of  the  North  have  only  received  a  lesson  in  the  Southern 
political  alphabet ;  and  it  may  be  well  for  them  if  they  do  not  push  their 
inquiries  any  further.  Yankee  inquisitiveness  is  proverbial,  but  we 
opine  he  has  enough  Southern  and  Western  learning  to  do  him  for  a 
time.  The  abolition  vote  in  the  Territory  was  extremely  meagre,  and 
we  do  not  suppose  they  will  have  a  single  member  in  either  branch  of 
the  Legislature.  What  comes  now  of  the  Northern  boast  that  they 
were  going  to  abolitionize  Kansas,  and  make  it  a  free  State?  They 
may  yet  do  it,  but  their  prospect  is  a  little  gloomy  at  present." 

After  this  pretended  election  the  pro-slavery  papers  pro- 
fessed great  confidence  in  the  final  result.  The  Kansas 
Herald,  published  at  Leavenworth,  demonstrated  the  folly 
of  further  Free-State  efforts  as  follows : 

"  KANSAS   SLAVE    STATE. 

"The  brilliant  and  glorious  triumph  achieved  by  the  noble  and 
unaided  efforts  of  the  gallant  and  chivalrous  sons  of  the  South  over  the 
combined  forces  of  the  abolitionists,  free-soilers  and  Emigrant  Aid 
societies  in  our  late  territorial  election,  furnishes  a  suitable  occasion  to 
invite  immigration  from  the  South  to  our  fair  and  fertile  Territory.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  seeming  uncertainty  of  Kansas  becoming  a  slave 
State,  and  the  stupendous  efforts  of  the  so-called  Emigrant  Aid  societies 
to  abolitionize  our  Territory  by  the  importation  of  hordes  of  paupers, 
hirelings,  and  convicts  have  served  in  a  great  measure  to  discourage 
and  impede  emigration  from  the  South.  We  have  been  assured  time 
and  again,  nor  do  we  doubt,  that  there  are  thousands  of  families  in 
many  of  the  old  Southern  States  who  have  been-  contemplating  for 
months  past  a  removal  to  Kansas,  but  have  been  deterred  from  doing 
so  through  fear  of  slavery  not  becoming  one  of  her  institutions. 

"  This  obstruction  is  now  obliterated,  for  the  infernal  machinations 
of  the  Emigrant  Aid  societies  have  been  defeated.  Abolitionism  has 
8 


114  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

been  rebuked  and  discomfited.  Free-soilism  has  been  crippled  and 
overthrown.  The  Free  White  State  Party  has  been  annihilated,  and 
Kansas  has  declared  loudly  and  decisively  in  favor  of  slavery.  That 
Kansas  is  to  become  a  slave  State  will  admit  of  no  doubt.  The  ques- 
tion has  been  decided.  Her  fate  is  sealed,  and  what  has  long  since  been 
the  hope  of  the  pro-slavery  party  will  soon  be  history. 

"  Everybody  must  admit  that  the  popular  vote  at  our  late  election  is 
the  most  infallible  exponent  of  the  squatters'  views  in  regard  to  the 
future  introduction  of  slavery  into  Kansas.  If  this  be  so,  we  ask,  docs 
the  vox populi  oppose  or  favor  the  introduction  of  slavery?  We  pause 
for  a  reply. 

"  But  let  us  for  a  moment  recapitulate  upon  the  returns  of  the  h.tc 
election,  which  speak  for  themselves.  By  reference  to  our  issue,  which 
contains  the  official  returns  of  the  election,  we  learn  that  the  total  num- 
ber of  votes  polled  in  the  Territory  is  no  less  than  5961,  out  of  which 
4893  were  cast  for  the  pro-slavery  party,  in  favor  of  making  Kan^a->  a 
slave  State,  against  1068  for  the  free-soil  party,  in  favor  of  making 
Kansas  a  free  State.  But  why  this  great  disparity,  of  what  is  it  indica- 
tive? It  shows  conclusively  that  swen-eighths  of  our  population  are  in 
favor  of  making  Kansas  a  slave  State." 

The  Free-State  men  had  abundant  evidence  that  the  fraud 
was  understood  throughout  the  land  both  by  friends  and 
opponents.  The  New  York  Tribune,  as  quoted  by  the  Free 
State  of  May  14,  1855,  said: 

"  After  such  a  gigantic  and  unmistakable  outrage  upon  the  rights  of 
the  real  inhabitants  of  Kansas,  we  cannot  conceive  how  dovernor 
Reeder  could  have  granted  any  certificates  of  election.  It  would 
seem  that  in  doing  so  he  must  have  yielded  to  intimidation.  *  *  * 
It  seems  that  the  (Governor  did  grant  a  number  of  tiiese  certificates,  anil 
then  left  for  Washington.  We  shall  be  glad  if  some  of  our  correspond- 
ents there  can  throw  any  light  on  Governor  Reeder's  mission  thither. 
That  no  lives  were  taken  by  these  brigands  is  very  evident,  because  they 
were  in  every  case  so  powerful  in  number  as  to  render  opposition  use- 
less. 

"  It  is  abundantly  demonstrated,  from  what  we  have  published  on  the 
Kansas  election,  that  a  more  stupendous  fraud  was  never  perpetrated 
since  the  invention  of  the  ballot-box.  The  crew  who  will  assemble 
under  the  title  of  the  Kansas  Territorial  Legislature,  by  virtue  of  this 
outrage,  will  be  a  body  of  men  t<  <  no  more  respect  will  be  due, 

and  should  be  no  more  entitled  to  the  weight  of  authority,  than  a  I 
lature  chosen  by  a  tribe  of  wandering  Arabs,  who  should  pitch  their 
tents  and  extemporize  an  election  on  the  prairies  of  that  Territory." 


PUBLIC    SENTIMENT.  115 

The  New  Haven  Palladium  said : 

"  The  recent  outrages  in  Kansas  by  the  border  slave-holders  of  Mis- 
souri afford  the  free  people  of  the  North  a  foretaste  of  what  they  must 
all  come  to,  in  ditt:  time,  if  they  permit  this  heartless  despotism  to  make 
any  further  progress  in  this  country.  What  is  this  Union  worth  with 
the  preponderance  of  such  influences  within  its  limits?  Who  would 
not  cry  for  dissolution  more  earnestly  than  did  our  fathers  for  a  separa- 
tion from  the  British  Crown,  if  this  overshadowing  despotism  is  to 
encircle  us  with  its  brutalizing  influences ;  and  its  outrageous  defiance 
of  even  the  forms  of  law  are  to  be  continued?  The  last  election  in 
Kansas  was  more  outrageously  conducted  than  the  first.  Armed  slave- 
holders from  Missouri  took  entire  possession  of  the  polls,  and  votes 
were  put  into  the  boxes  without  any  reference  to  the  right,  or  even  to 
a  show  of  decency.  All  that  we  cherish  in  our  Republican  system  as 
essential  to  domestic  order  and  the  safety  of  life  and  property  was 
rudely  trampled  under  foot.  We  would  have  the  admission  of  that 
State  to  this  Union  resisted,  though  it  costs  rivers  of  blood  and  a  hun- 
dred millions  of  treasure.  We  trust  that  when  this  crisis  conies  it  will 
appear  that  there  is  a  A'crth." 

Again  the  New  York  Tribune  says : 

"  We  are  not  prepared  either  to  say  to  what  these  proceedings  are 
likely  to  lead.  They  seem,  however,  pregnant  with  the  seeds  of  great 
good  or  evil.  They  sound  in  our  ears  like  the  distant  roar  of  the  com- 
ing tempest.  Events  of  startling  character  and  magnitude  may  stand 
in  fearful  proximity  behind  that  dim  and  shadowy  veil  which  divides  the 
present  from  the  future.  There  is  Kansas.  Her  territory  is  free  soil. 
It  was  never  stained  by  the  tread  of  a  slave.  Her  plains  never  echoed 
to  the  lash  of  the  slave-driver's  whip,  nor  the  groans  of  the  enchained 
bondmen.  The  millions  of  the  free  States  have  thundered  out  the 
declaration  that  they  never  shall.  On  one  side,  the  slave  power  has 
risen  in  its  might  and  declared  its  purpose  to  subjugate  that  Territory, 
and  plant  slavery  there  in  defiance  of  the  North,  in  defiance  of  the 
pleadings  of  humanity,  in  defiance  of  the  spirit  of  freedom.  It  has 
armed  its  myrmidons,  marshalled  and  sent  them  forth  to  execute  its 
purposes.  The  symbols  of  their  errand  were  defiantly  promenaded 
through  the  Territory  in  the  late  scandalous  inroad,  in  the  shape  of 
negro  fiddlers  and  negro  attendants.  As  the  conquerors  of  old  carried 
their  captives  in  their  train,  so  did  our  modern  brigands  open  their 
career  by  a  similar  demonstration.  The  appeal  is  now  made  to  arms. 
By  the  sword  they  declare  shall  Kansas  be  gained  to  slavery.  The 
vaunt  is  openly  flung  forth,  and  the  challenge  to  all  the  world  is,  let 
him  dispute  us  who  dare.  The  first  step  taken  has  been  to  put  beneath 


Il6  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

their  heel  the  real  residents  and  occupants  of  the  soil.  The  next  is  to 
depose  the  Governor,  and  pronounce  another  in  his  place.  A  third  is 
to  declare  war  against  all  who  dare  oppose  their  plans.  The  army  of 
slavery  is  thus  encamped  on  the  soil  of  Kansas,  belligerent  and  fierce. 
It  pretends  to  hold  the  country  by  the  conqueror's  title. 

' '  Such  is  the  position  of  one  side  in  the  struggle  for  the  possession 
of  Kansas.  On  the  other  stands  a  little  band  of  the  sons  of  freedom, 
just  now  borne  down  by  numbers,  but  resolute  in  purpose  and  ready  to 
do  their  part  in  repelling  the  barbarian  invaders.  The  question  is 
whether  they  are  to  be  seconded  by  the  people  of  the  North.  Is  there 
a  genuine  spirit  of  freedom  in  the  country,  ready  to  do  something 
against  the  atrocious  strides  of  the  slave  power  to  continental  dominion? 
Are  there  those  who  are  willing  to  migrate  to  Kansas  to  aid  in  main- 
taining the  freedom  of  Kansas  at  the  cost  of  such  perils  as  may  arise? 
Are  the  Northern  people  generally  up  to  the  demand  of  the  civilization 
and  the  humanity  of  the  times?  Do  they  mean  Kansas  shall  be  free? 
If  they  do,  that  is  enough.  The  force  that  shall  drive  out  hordes  of 
land  pirates  who  have  made  their  descent  upon  Kansas  will  not  be  long 
in  forming.  Swayed  and  inspired  by  the  sentiments  of  freedom,  they 
will  scatter  its  enemies  like  chaff.  But  we  are  not  quite  sure  that  the 
people  of  the  free  States  are  in  earnest  in  the  resolve  to  maintain  the 
freedom  of  Kansas.  We  do  not  know  whether  the  emigrants  thither 
from  the  free  States  will  prove  themselves  to  accept  the  responsibilities 
of  their  position,  and  meet  the  issue  raised  by  the  slave-holders.  If 
they  do,  the  time  is  here  for  the  North  to  show  that  her  people  are 
worthy  of  their  sires.  If  it  be  otherwise,  their  degradation  is  unspeak- 
able and  they  are  fit  only  to  live  as  the  slaves  of  slaves." 

The  Worcester  Sfy  said : 

"  Every  account  from  Kansas  concerning  the  occurrences  which  took 
place  there  at  the  election  on  the  3Oth  of  March  tends  to  establish  the 
fact  of  the  perpetration  by  the  Missourians  of  one  of  the  grossest  out- 
rages that  ever  was  committed  upon  American  citizens.  Alleged  Au-- 
trian  and  Cuban  outrages  upon  the-  persons  and  liberties  of  our  country- 
men abroad  dwindle  down  into  utter  insignificance  in  comparison  with 
the  brigandism  which  was  perpetrated  upon  the  people  of  Kansas  by 
the  ruffians  of  Missouri  at  the  period  named.  Accustomed,  as  we  have 
been,  to  the  almost  boundless  insolence  and  unrestrained  aggressions 
of  the  slave  power,  it  still  seems  scarcely  possible  for  us  to  believe  that 
men  bearing  the  names  of  'American  freemen  '  could  be  guilty  of  such 
cowardly  assaults  upon  their  fellow-citizens :  such  dastardly  attacks 
upon  the  very  principle  of  '  squatter  sovereignty,'  which  they  profess 
to  cherish,  and  such  unprovoked,  unjustifiable  assaults  upon  the  freedom 


PUBLIC    EXPRESSIONS.  117 

and  independence  of  a  Territory  with  which  they  have  no  shadow  of 
right  to  interfere,  as  have  been  committed  by  Atchison  and  Stringfel- 
low,  and  the  scoundrels  with  whom  they  have  twice  carried  war  into 
Kansas. 

"It  is  shown  that  an  army  of  Missourians,  armed  with  rifles,  re- 
volvers, and  knives,  with  a  regular  organized  commissariat,  and  with 
cannon,  invaded  the  Territory  of  Kansas  on  the  2gth  of  March  last ; 
and  on  the  3Cth,  prevented,  by  military  outrage,  the  people  of  that 
Territory  from  voting  for  a  territorial  Legislature,  at  the  same  time  dic- 
tating who  shall  be  members  of  that  Legislature. 

"  If  Atchison  and  Stringfellow  had  organized  their  army  of  ruffians 
for  the  purpose  of  invading  Mexico,  the  general  Government  would 
have  seized  those  men  and  would  have  punished  them  severely  for  levy- 
ing war.  Why  not  do  so  in  this  case?  It  is  the  bounden  duty  of  the 
general  Government  to  protect  our  Territories  from  invasion  and  their 
inhabitants  from  foreign  aggression.  Why  do  they  not  do  it  in  this 
case  of  Kansas?  The  old  answer  comes  to  us  with  the  same  everlasting 
response — the  invaders  of  Kansas  went  there  to  establish  slavery,  and 
slavery,  which  is  now  the  supreme  power  at  Washington,  strikes  the 
Government  blind  and  dumb  with  moral  paralysis.  It  dare  not  act 
against  the  power  that  made  it.  It  dare  not  complain  of  the  outrages 
which  it  originally  invited,  by  ignoring  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and 
which  it  has  since  encouraged  by  its  drivelling  policy. 

"  But  this  condition  of  things  is  not  a  permanent  one.  The  next 
Congress  will  utterly  condemn  such  proceedings.  In  the  meantime  let 
the  freemen  of  the  North  and  West  pour  into  the  Territory,  and  in  a 
few  months  the  freedom  of  Kansas  will  be  established  so  that  no  ruffians 
will  be  able  to  browbeat  and  intimidate  those  who  alone  have  the  right 
to  regulate  its  municipal  affairs." 

The  New  York  Evening  Post  said : 

"  If  there  was  any  provocation  either  to  force  or  fraud,  it  was  simply 
a  provocaton  to  retaliate  by  sending  colonists  friendly  to  the  institution 
of  slavery.  The  Territory  was  open  to  the  inhabitants  of  slave  States 
as  well  as  free.  All  they  had  to  do  was  to  occupy  it  and  frame  its 
institutions  after  their  own  pattern,  if  they  could. 

"  The  emigration  from  the  free  States,  say  these  apologists  for  the 
dishonest  proceedings  of  the  Missourians,  was  a  challenge  and  defiance. 
Let  it  be  a  challenge  to  a  race  and  not  to  a  fight.  It  was  boldly  and 
openly  made.  'Let  us  see,'  they  said,  'who,  in  a  fair  contest  of  speed, 
will  get  into  the  country  first.'  The  Missourians,  instead  of  abiding 
by  the  challenge  and  giving  their  antagonists  a  fair  field,  take  arms  in 
their  hands  and  drive  them  out  of  it.  It  is  precisely  as  if  two  men 


Il8  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

should  bet  on  a  horse  race,  and  one  of  them  seeing  the  other  likely  to 
win,  should  snatch  the  stakes  out  of  the  hands  of  the  holder  and  run 
off  with  them.  This  is  an  illustration  which  we  suppose  will  be  under- 
stood in  Missouri." 

Some  of  the  Southern  papers  did  not  seem  as  hopeful  as 
the  border  editors.  The  Charleston  News  said  : 

••  UNMITIGATED    CURSE. 

"  There  never  was  a  completer  or  more  disastrous  miscarriage  than 
the  Nebraska  bill.  It  has  not  only  blasted  every  expectation  that  was 
originally  formed  of  it,  but  it  proved  to  its  authors  a  positive  and  un- 
mitigated curse.  Instead  of  strengthening  the  harmony  of  the  country, 
it  has  given  rise  to  the  intensest  resentment  and  discord.  Insr 
giving  effect  and  confirmation  to  the  compromise  of  1850,  it  has  blasted 
that  compromise  into  nothingness.  Instead  of  securing  two  additional 
slave  States  to  the  Union,  it  has  secured  two  additional  free  States. 
And  instead  of  putting  an  end  to  free-soil  doctrine,  it  has  given  that 
doctrine  a  power  and  a  respectability  which  it  never  possessed  before, 
and  which,  we  believe,  it  could  never  have  attained  through  any  other 
medium  than  that  opened  by  the  bill." 

The  Louisville  Journal,  under  the  head  of  "  The  late 
Doings  in  Kansas  and  Missouri,"  said  : 

"  It  is  painful  to  speak  of  the  occurrences  in  Kansas  and  upon  its 
borders  within  the  last  few  weeks,  but  they  are  too  important  in  their 
nature,  and  are  likely  to  be  by  far  too  important  in  their  consequences 
to  be  passed  by  in  silence.  We  have  waited  to  see  statements  from  all 
sides  in  order  that  we  might  be  able  to  speak  upon  the  subject  without 
danger  of  being  mistaken.  \Ve  have  no  feeling  that  could  prompt  us 
to  speak  as  a  partisan.  We  wanted  the  Missouri  Compromise  to  be  let 
alone,  but,  as  it  has  been  repealed,  \\e  wish  to  see  Kansas  admitted  at 
the  proper  time  into  the  Union  as  a  State,  either  with  or  without 
slavery,  as  her  own  qualified  voters  shall  decide. 

"  We  have  only  slight  means  of  judging  whether  a  majority  ot  the 
present  population  of  Kansas  Territory  are  for  or  against  making  it  a 
slave  State.  But  it  certainly  cannot  be  denied  with  a  semblance  of 
truth  that  the  recent  election,  so  called,  of  delegates  to  the  territorial 
.iture  was  the  most  open  and  scandalous  mockery  of  an  election 
ever  heard  of  in  the  United  States,  the  old  Plamicmine  election  of  1844 
scarcely  excepted.  An  official  census  of  the  inhabitants  < ••!  the  Territory 
•was  carefully  taken  only  four  weeks  before  the  election,  and  from  this 
it  appears  that,  in  some  precincts  alone,  the  votes  polled  at  the  election 


SOUTHERN    PROTEST.  119 

considerably  surpassed  the  whole  number  of  voters  in  the  entire  Terri- 
tory. The  truth  is,  an  army  of  Missourians,  variously  estimated  at 
from  three  thousand  to  five  thousand,  armed  with  bowie-knives  and 
pistlos  and  rifles,  and  even  cannon,  marched  into  Kansas  on  the  day 
before  election,  distributed  themselves  wherever  they  were  wanted, 
awed  all  opposition  to  silence,  deposed  and  put  up  election  judges  to 
suit  themselves,  allowed  the  privilege  of  voting  to  whom  they  pleased, 
compelled  by  threats  and  the  display  of  weapons  the  receiving  of  their 
own  votes,  offered  personal  violence  to  all  who  were  obnoxious  to 
them,  carried  everything  before  them,  and,  the  next  day,  returned  to 
Missouri  under  streaming  banners,  and  to  the  music  of  fife  and  drum 
and  trumpet.  *  *  * 

"The  determination  of  the  Missourians  living  near  the  borders  of 
Kansas  to  make  that  Territory  a  slave  Territory  and  a  slave  State  at  all 
hazards,  and  by  whatever  means,  is  abundantly  evident  from  the  late 
proceedings  of  the  residents  of  Platte  County,  Missouri.  In  that  case 
all  the  principal  men  of  the  county,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred, 
assembled  as  a  mob,  destroyed  a  newspaper  press  simply  because  it 
would  not  recognize  the  right  of  Missourians  to  vote  in  Kansas,  at- 
tempted to  take  the  lives  of  the  editors  and  proprietors,  and  solemnly 
pledged  their  word  and  honor  that,  if  those  gentlemen  should  dare  to 
settle  in  any  portion  of  Kansas,  they,  the  people  of  Platte  County,  Mis- 
souri, would  follow  them  into  the  Territory  and  put  them  to  death ! 
Thus  this  Missouri  mob,  a  portion  of  the  army  of  pistol  and  bowie- 
knife  voters  who  had  crossed  into  Kansas  and  borne  down  everybody 
and  everything  at  the  election,  now  boldly  and  audaciously  announced 
to  the  world  that  they  claimed  and  would  exercise  the  prerogative  of 
deciding  who  should  and  who  should  not  settle  in  the  Territory  of  Kan- 
sas ;  that  they  would  not  permit  the  people  of  Kansas  to  decide  this 
matter  for  themselves  ;  that  they  would  cross  the  line  and  cut  the 
throats  of  any  who  should  presume  to  become  inhabitants  of  the  new 
Territory  against  their  wishes. 

"  If  any  man,  whether  editor  or  private  citizen,  chooses  to  brand  us 
as  free-soil  in  our  propensities  because  we  denounce  the  outrages  of 
the  Missourians  upon  the  rights  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kansas,  and  are 
in  favor  of  permitting  those  inhabitants  to  fix  their  own  institutions  for 
themselves  according  to  the  provision  of  the  Nebraska  law  and  without 
obstruction  or  hindrance  from  any  outside  power,  we  have  only  to  say 
that  he  is  a  calumniator.  The  late  proceedings  in  Kansas  and  Missouri 
are  infinitely  more  to  be  deplored  by  the  South  than  by  the  North.  We 
all  know  that  a  deep  and  terrible  excitement  was  created  throughout  the 
North  by  the  Missouri  Compromise  repeal,  which  gave  to  the  people  of 
Kansas  the  nominal  power  of  deciding  by  their  own  votes  whether  they 
would  have  slavery  or  not,  and  we  all  know,  too,  that  trfere  has  been, 


120  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

from  the  date  of  the  repeal,  a  mighty  array  of  strength  in  the  North, 
resolved  on  never  permitting  Kansas  to  come  into  the  Union  as  a  slave- 
holding  State,  no  matter  with  what  kind  of  a  constitution  she  might 
apply.  By  a  course  of  fairness  and  moderation  this  perverse  and  wrong 
resolve  on  the  part  of  the  North  might  possibly,  and  even  probably,  be 
overcome,  but  we  ask  how  it  can  fail  to  be  vastly  and  boundlessly 
strengthened  and  increased  when  the  people  of  a  slave-holding  State,  in 
utter  disregard  of  the  rights  guaranteed  to  Kansas,  avowedly  control 
her  elections  by  physical  force,  decide  in  mob  meetings  who  shall  and 
shall  not  be  tolerated  within  its  borders,  adopt  measures  for  forcing  a 
slave  constitution  upon  her,  whether  her  settlers  are  willing  or  not,  and 
brandish  the  murderous  blade  before  the  eyes  of  the  world  as  the  instru- 
ment by  which  they  mean,  in  the  event  of  resistance,  to  execute  their 
designs." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

REPUDIATION. MEANS     OF     DEFENSE. THE    COUNTRY    AGI- 
TATED.  THE  FIRST  KANSAS  CELEBRATION  OF  THE  FOURTH 

OF    JULY. 

IMMEDIATELY  after  the  decision  of  Governor  Reeder,  the 
resident  agent  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  was  but  one  hope  for  a  free  State,  and 
that  was  to  repudiate  not  only  the  election,  but  Governor 
Reeder's  action  in  giving  certificates  to  the  invaders.  He 
had  seen  what  law-making  could  effect  in  the  control 
of  oppressors  as  against  the  oppressed  in  California,  and. 
knew  very  well  what  might  be  expected  from  this  Legis- 
lature that  had  just  been  legalized  by  the  Governor's  act, 
so  far  as  illegality  and  fraud  could  be  legalized.  The 
Legislature  could  pass  laws,  as  did  the  California  Legis- 
lature regarding  land  titles,  purposely  to  deprive  one  class 
of  citizens  of  all  legal  protection.  It  was  true,  repudiation 
was  a  most  desperate  remedy,  but  the  case  was  desperate. 
The  fraudulent  Legislature  would  be  sustained  by  the  Fed- 
eral Executive  and  territorial  judiciary,  backed  by  the  ter- 
ritorial militia  and  Federal  army.  While  the  fraud  was 
patent  to  all,  had  been  published  throughout  the  land  and 
condemned  by  all  Northern  and  many  Southern  men,  it  was 
no  easy  matter  to  draw  the  line  and  keep  on  the  right  side 
of  it.  While  Northern  papers  would  justify  and  uphold 
repudiation  of  the  bogus  Legislature  and  its  enactments, 
scarcely  a  man  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  would 
justify  the  lifting  of  a  finger  against  Federal  authority.  It 
was  therefore  necessary  in  this  conflict  to  draw  the  line  at 


122  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

that  point.  But  how  could  this  be  done  ?  The  laws  would 
be  adjudicated  by  Federal  judges  and  executed  by  a  Fed- 
eral governor  and  United  States  marshal.  All  justices  of 
the  peace,  probate  judges,  sheriffs,  and  constables  would  be 
creatures  of  the  usurpation.  The  Territory  was  without 
other  law,  except  common  and  Federal  law,  so  far  as  this 
was  applicable  to  crimes,  and  the  American  people  were 
law-abiding.  What  influence  could  keep  the  Free-State 
settlers  from  giving  in  their  adherence,  and  thus  making 
this  usurpation  a  Government  de  facto,  although  not  a  Gov- 
ernment tie  jure  ?  No  new  election  of  both  houses  of  the 
Legislature  would  be  held  for  two  years.  Would  it  be  pos- 
sible to  hold  out  that  length  of  time  without  law,  while 
branded  as  repudiators  and  traitors  by  the  Federal  Executive 
and  one-half  of  the  people  of  the  country  ?  Had  the  Free- 
State  settlers  been  high  dignitaries,  ex-members  of  Congress, 
or  ex-officers  of  any  kind,  such  a  course  would  have  been 
scouted  as  impracticable  and  Utopian  ;  but,  fortunately,  all 
the  Free-State  settlers  at  this  time  were  actuated  and  gov- 
erned by  a  conviction  of  right  and  natural  justice,  and  did 
not  stop  to  count  the  cost.  And,  even  if  they  had  stopped 
to  forecast  the  future,  it  would  have  been  shrouded  in  thick 
darkness.  There  had  been  no  precedents  that  could  throw 
light  upon  the  situation,  except  on  a  small  scale  in  California, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  make  the  venture  in  the  dark, 
trusting  to  prudent  and  wise  conduct  to  bring  them  through. 
Should  this  policy  of  repudiation  be  adopted,  means  of  de- 
fense must  be  provided.  Even  without  taking  this  step,  and 
before  the  election,  bullying,  browbeating,  and  bluster  had 
become  intolerable.  Four  men  with  their  pro-slavery  allies 
had  frightened  the  whole  town  company  of  Lawrence  into 
giving  up  to  them  nearly  one-half  of  the  town  site,  to  which 
they  had  no  legal  or  equitable  right.  The  result  of  the 
election  gave  these  blusterers  and  bullies  new  courage,  and 
they  were  and  would  be  more  unendurable  than  ever.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  returning  from  the  Mission  where  the  final  act 


SHARP'S    RIFLES.  123 

in  the  drama  had  been  played  by  the  Governor,  George  W. 
Deitzler  was  sent  with  a  letter  to  Eli  Thayer  for  one  hun- 
dred Sharp's  rifles.  These  rifles  were  needed  in  self-defense 
against  ruffians,  and  not  for  offensive  war  against  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  and  were  so  used.  General  Deitzler,  in 
his  letter  to  the  invitation  committee  of  the  Quarter  Centen- 
nial Convention,  at  Lawrence,  in  September,  1879,  gives  this 
account  of  his  mission  : 

"  SAN  FRANCISCO,  September  8,  1879. 

' '  Judge  J.    S.    Emery  and  others,    Committee  of  Old  Settlers,    Law- 
rence, Kansas: 

"  GENTLEMEN:  I  regret  exceedingly  that  it  will  be  impossible  for 
me  to  accept  your  kind  invitation  to  attend  the  meeting  of  Old  Settlers 
of  Kansas,  at  Lawrence,  on  the  I5th  inst. 

"  Time  is  making  sad  inroads  upon  our  ranks.  We  are  passing 
rapidly  away.  Soon  the  '  Old  Guard  '  will  have  none  of  their  number 
left  to  call  the  roll.  It  is  gratifying  to  observe  that  your  State  His- 
torical Society  is  collecting  the  materials  for  a  full  and  correct  history  of 
the  stirring  events  of  1855  and  1856,  and  no  doubt  justice  will  be  done 
to  the  people  who  perilled  their  all  in  securing  freedom  to  Kansas,  as  well 
as  to  those  generous  and  patriotic  men  and  women  who  inaugurated 
and  sustained  the  aid  societies  which  proved  such  valuable  instrumen- 
talities in  the  furtherance  of  the  cause.  Among  the  latter  stands  the 
able  and  truly  good  man,  Hon.  Eli  Thayer,  whose  letter  of  acceptance 
of  your  invitation,  published  in  the  Lawrence  Journal,  recalls  an  incident 
of  1855,  to  which  I  beg  to  refer  briefly-  Some  six  weeks  after  my 
arrival  in  the  Territory,  and  only  a  few  days  after  the  territorial  election 
of  March  3Oth,  at  which  time  Kansas  was  invaded  by  an  armed  force 
from  the  Southern  States,  and  the  actual  Free-State  settlers  were  driven 
from  the  polls,  Governor  Charles  Robinson,  than  whom  no  truer  or 
braver  man  ever  espoused  the  cause  of  free  Kansas,  requested  me  to 
visit  Boston  with  a  view  of  securing  arms  for  our  people,  to  which  I 
assented.  Preparations  were  quickly  and  quietly  made,  and  no  one 
knew  the  object  of  my  mission  except  Governor  Robinson  and  Hon. 
Joel  Grover.  At  Worcester  I  presented  my  letter  from  Governor 
Robinson  to  Mr.  Thayer,  just  as  he  was  leaving  Oread  Home  for  the 
morning  Boston  train.  Within  an  hour  after  our  arrival  in  Boston, 
the  executive  committee  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society  held  a  meeting 
and  delivered  to  me  an  order  for  one  hundred  Sharp's  rifles,  and  I 
started  at  once  for  Hartford,  arriving  there  on  Saturday  evening.  The 
guns  were  packed  on  the  following  Sunday,  and  I  started  for  home  on 


124  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Monday  morning.  The  boxes  were  marked  '  Books.'  I  took  the  pre- 
caution to  have  the  (cap)  cones  removed  from  the  guns  and  carried 
them  in  my  carpet  sack,  which  sack  would  have  been  missing  in  the 
event  of  the  capture  of  the  guns  by  the  enemy.  On  the  Missouri  River 
I  met  Hon.  John  and  Joseph  L.  Speer,  for  the  first  time.  They  did 
not  know  me,  but  may  remember  the  exciting  incidents  at  Booneville 
and  other  points  along  the  river.  I  arrived  at  Lawrence  with  the 
'  Beecher  Bibles '  several  days  before  the  special  election,  in  April, 
called  by  Governor  Reeder.  But  no  guns  were  needed  upon  that 
occasion,  as  the  ruffians  ignored  that  election,  and  when  the  persons 
elected  upon  that  day  presented  their  credentials  to  the  Legislature  at 
Pawnee,  they  were  kicked  out  without  ceremony. 

"  I  have  not  referred  to  this  transaction  from  any  motives  of  personal 
vanity,  but  simply  to  revive  a  feeling  of  gratitude  towards  Mr.  Thayer 
and  his  associates,  for  the  kind  and  patriotic  assistance  rendered  by 
them  to  the  Free-State  people  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the 
great  struggle  which  terminated,  happily,  in  the  overthrow  of  American 
slavery,  and  to  show  how  promptly  they  gave  attention  to  the  business 
which  took  me  to  Boston.  Those  rifles  did  good  service  in  the  '  border 
war,'  and  their  movements  in  the  hands  of  the  brave  and  fearless 
Stubbs  would  furnish  incidents  for  a  very  interesting  chapter  in  the 
history  of  the  Old  Settlers.  It  was,  perhaps,  the  first  shipment  of 
arms  for  our  side,  and  it  incited  a  healthy  feeling  among  the  unarmed 
Free-State  settlers,  which  permeated  and  energized  them  until  even  the 
Quakers  were  ready  to  fight.  The  temptation  exists  to  say  more  while 
I  am  up,  but  I  must  forbear.  I  beg  to  be  remembered  by  all,  and 
trust  the  Old  Settlers  will  have  a  jolly  good  time  at  this  and  at  all 
future  meetings. 

"Very  respectfully,  GEO.  W.  DEITZLER." 

These  were  the  first  weapons  procured  for  the  defense  of 
the  settlers  in  their  repudiation  career,  and  were  indispen- 
sable. As  soon  as  their  arrival  was  known  a  change  in  the 
atmosphere  was  perceptible,  most  agreeable  to  Free-State 
men  and  most  chilling  to  the  ardor  of  Slave-State  men.  So 
salutary  was  their  effect  in  the  town  that  settlers  wanted  to 
try  them  in  the  country,  and  the  following  letter  was  given 
to  Hon.  J.  B.  Abbott: 

"  LAWRENCE,  July  26,  1855. 

"  MR.  THAYER — DEAR  SIR:  The  bearer,  J.  B.  Abbott,  is  a  resi- 
dent of  this  district,  on  the  Wakarusa,  about  four  miles  from  Lawrence. 
There  is  a  military  company  formed  in  his  neighborhood,  and  they  are 


MORE    ARMS. LAWRENCE.  125 

anxious  to  procure  arms.  Mr.  Abbott  is  a  gentleman  in  whom  you 
can  place  implicit  confidence,  and  is  true  as  steel  to  the  cause  of  free- 
dom in  Kansas.  In  my  judgment,  the  rifles  in  Lawrence  have  had  a 
very  good  effect,  and  I  think  the  same  kind  of  instruments  in  other 
places  would  do  more  to  save  Kansas  than  almost  anything  else.  Any- 
thing you  can  do  for  Mr.  Abbott  will  be  gratefully  appreciated  by  the 
people  of  Kansas.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  revolution,  as  you  will 
see  by  the  papers.  How  we  shall  come  out  of  the  furnace,  God  only 
knows.  That  we  have  got  to  enter  it,  some  of  us,  there  is  no  doubt ; 
but  we  are  ready  to  be  offered. 

"  In  haste,  very  respectfully  yours,  for  freedom  for  a  world, 

"  C.  ROBINSON." 

(The  above  letter  has  the  following  endorsement : ) 

"OFFICE    OF   THE    NEW    ENGLAND    EMIGRANT    AlD    COMPANY, 

"No.  3  Winter  Street,  Boston,  August  10,  1855. 
"  Dr.  Charles  Robinson,  within  mentioned,  is  an  agent  of  the  Emi- 
grant Aid  Company,  and 'is  worthy  of  implicit  confidence.      We  cheer- 
fully recommend  Mr.  J.  B.  Abbott  to  the  public. 

"  C.  H.  BRANSCOMB,  Secretary  pro  tern.'" 

Major  Abbott  also  procured  a  mountain  howitzer  with 
ammunition,  as  well  as  Sharp's  rifles.  During  the  spring  and 
summer  several  invoices  of  arms  were  received  for  different 
parts  of  the  Territory,  nearly  all  furnished  through  the  assist- 
ance of  persons  connected  with  the  Aid  Company.  The 
following  letters  will  show  the  interest  taken  by  Amos  A. 
Lawrence,  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  efficient  friends 

Kansas  ever  had : 

"  BOSTON,  August  n,  1855. 

"DEAR  SIR:  Request  Mr.  Palmer  to  have  one  hundred  Sharp's 
rifles  packed  in  casks,  like  hardware,  and  to  retain  them  subject  to  my 
order.  Also  to  send  the  bill  to  me  by  mail.  I  will  pay  it  either  with 
my  note,  according  to  the  terms  agreed  on  between  him  and  Dr.  WTebb, 
or  in  cash,  less  interest  at  seven  per  cent,  per  annum. 

"  Yours  truly,  AMOS  A.  LAWRENCE. 

"  Air.  J.  B.  Abbott,  care  of  A.  Rogers,  Hartford,  Conn.'1'' 

"  BOSTON,  August  20,  1855. 

"Mv  DEAR  SIR:  This  installment  of  carbines  is  far  from  being 
enough,  and  I  hope  the  measures  you  are  taking  will  be  followed  up 
.until  every  organized  company  of  trusty  men  in  the  Territory  shall  be 


126  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

supplied.  Dr.  Cabot  will  give  me  the  names  of  any  gentlemen  here 
who  subscribe  money,  and  the  amount,  of  which  I  shall  keep  a  mem- 
orandum, and  promise  them  that  it  shall  be  repaid  either  in  cash,  or  in 
rifles,  whenever  it  is  settled  that  Kansas  shall  not  be  a  province  of 
Missouri.  Therefore  keep  them  in  capital  order,  and  above  all,  take 
good  care  they  do  not  fa'.l  into  the  hands  of  the  Missourians  after  you 
once  get  them  into  use. 

"  You  must  dispose  of  these  where  they  will  do  the  most  good,  and 
for  this  purpose  you  should  advise  with  Dr.  Robinson  and  Mr.  Pom- 
eroy. 

"  Yours  truly,  AMOS  A.  LAWRENCE. 

'•.]/;•.  James  B.  Abbott,  care  of  A.  Rogers,  Hartford." 

"  BOSTON,  August  24,  1855. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR:  The  rifles  ought  to  be  on  the  way.  Have  you 
forwarded  them?  How  much  money  have  you  received?  The  Topeka 
people  will  require  half  of  these. 

"Yours  truly,  AMOS  A.  LAWRENCE. 

"Mr.  J.  B.  Abbott:"1 

The  howitzer  was  procured  in  New  York  through  the 
agency  of  Horace  Greeley,  Olmstead,  and  others.  It  would 
seem  that  the  statements  of  Deitzler  and  Abbott,  with  the 
letters  of  Lawrence,  Olmstead,  and  others,  on  file  at  the 
rooms  of  the  Historical  Society,  would  be  conclusive  as  to  the 
date  of  furnishing  arms  to  Kansas,  and  as  to  the  instrumen- 
tality by  which  they  were  furnished,  but  at  a  reunion  of 
abolitionists  at  Boston,  in  September,  1890,  F.  B.  Sanborn 
said  that  "John  Brown  had  carried  for  his  sons'  use  a  small 
stock  of  arms  before  the  Sharp's  rifles  from  Boston  go  there." 
On  turning  to  "  Appleton's  Cyclopedia  of  Biography,"  page 
405,  it  appears  that  John  Brown's  sons,  when  they  went 
to  Kansas,  in  1855,  "were  so  little  prepared  for  an  armed 
struggle  that  they  had  among  them  only  two  small  shot-guns 
and  a  revolver,"  while  John  Brown  himself  did  not  go  to 
Kansas  till  October  of  that  year.  This,  however,  is  of  no 
importance,  except  to  show  how  romance  differs  from  state- 
ments in  cyclopedias  and  documents  in  historical  societies. 
In  this  speech  of  Mr.  Sanborn  he  belittles  the  work  of  the  aid 


SANBORN'S    CLAIMS.  127 

companies,  and,  while  he  concedes  there  may  have  been 
good  accomplished  in  an  indifferent  manner  by  others,  there 
were  but  two  men  indispensable  and  worthy  to  be  named, 
and  one  of  these  was  John  Brown  and  the  other  James  H. 
Lane.  But,  up  to  the  3oth  of  March,  at  the  election  of  a 
Legislature  which  was  to  decide  the  question  of  slavery  or 
no  slavery,  neither  of  these  indispensable  men  had  put  in  an 
appearance,  nor,  in  fact,  did  either  appear  till  the  policy  of 
the  Free-State  men  had  been  decided  upon  and  arms  had 
been  ordered  for  putting  it  in  force.  According  to  a  letter  of 
John  Brown,  Jr.,  published  in  the  Cleveland  Leader,  in  the 
month  of  October,  1854,  "five  of  the  sons  of  John  Brown, 
residents  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  made  their  arrangements  to 
emigrate  to  Kansas."  In  the  spring  of  1855,  three  of  them 
started  from  Illinois  to  drive  through  some  cattle,  while  the 
two  others  went  by  rail,  river,  and  land  to  a  place  eight 
miles  west  of  Osawatomie.  As  he  says,  they  had  for  the  five 
brothers  two  squirrel  guns  and  a  revolver.  Here,  then,  is 
the  alacrity  of  the  Brown  sons,  while  the  father  did  not  ar- 
rive till  October.  How  about  Thayer  and  his  Aid  Com- 
pany, and  the  settlers  not  worthy  of  a  name  in  this  conflict  f 
Within  one  month  of  the  passage  of  the  Kansas- Nebraska  bill, 
three  agents  of  that  company,  Colonel  James  Blood,  C.  H. 
Branscomb,  and  Charles  Robinson,  were  en  route  for  Kansas 
to  arrange  for  its  settlement.  Six  parties  had  emigrated  from 
the  extreme  East  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1854,  and  several 
in  the  spring  of  1855.  Several  parties  not  connected  directly 
with  this  company  also  emigrated,  besides  a  large  number  in- 
dependently of  all  parties.  Several  Free-State  newspapers  had 
been  published  since  the  first  of  January,  1855 — The  Herald 
of  freedom,  Tribune,  and  Free  State — and  several  Free- 
State  towns  started,  among  them  Lawrence,  Topeka,  Man- 
hattan, Wabaunsee,  and  Osawatomie.  All  this  had  been 
done  before  the  Browns  got  fairly  wa.ked  up  to  what  was 
going  on  in  the  United  States  of  America.  Suppose  Thayer, 
Sam  Wood,  Wakefield,  G.  W.  Brown,  the  Speers,  Miller  and 


128  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Elliot,  Holliday,  Sam  Walker  Deitzler,  Abbott,  Goodnow, 
Eldridges,  Savages,  Duncans,  Smiths,  Tappan,  Fuller,  Clarke, 
and  others  without  number,  had  been  as  sleepy  as  the  Brown 
family,  where  would  free  Kansas  have  been  ?  Evidently  the 
question  would  have  been  settled,  and  forever.  There  would 
have  been  no  occasion  for  an  invasion  from  Missouri  and 
the  South,  as  there  would  have  been  only  pro-slavery  settlers 
and  voters  in  the  Territory,  and  no  persons  would  have  ever 
afterwards  migrated  to  Kansas  unless  they  were  willing  to  live 
in  a  slave  state,  which  Kansas  would  have  been  without  a 
struggle.  Unquestionably  the  Free-State  settlers  who  arrived 
in  Kansas  previous  to  the  3oth  of  March,  1855,  made  the  in- 
vasion necessary  on  the  part  of  the  Slave-State  men,  and  the 
infamy  and  illegality  of  that  invasion  gave  a  fighting  chance 
for  success  to  the  methods  adopted  by  the  Free-State  party. 
How  did  Lane,  the  other  indispensable,  welcome  these 
Sharp's  rifles  ?  A  letter  from  Lawrence  to  the  Milwaukee 
Sentinel,  supposed  to  be  by  E.  D.  Ladd,  dated  May  23, 
1855,  a  short  time  after  Lane's  arrival  in  the  Territory,  gives 
this  account  of  the  reception  of  the  rifles,  just  before  the 
second  election,  called  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Legislature : 

"  LAWRENCE,  KANSAS,  May  23d. 

"  An  intense  excitement  was  produced  in  the  minds  of  a  few  of  our 
citizens — I  need  not  say  who — preceding  the  election,  by  the  arrival 
on  the  E»i»ia  Harmon  of  five  boxes  of  books,  which,  on  being  opened, 
proved  to  be,  instead  of  books,  one  hundred  of  Sharp's  rifles,  capable 
of  discharging  1000  shots  per  minute.  Threats  and  imprecations  were 
loud  and  long.  '  If  not  sent  back  immediately  they  would  be  thrown 
into  the  Kansas; '  '  there  would  be  an  armed  force  from  Missouri  here 
to  take  them  ;  '  '  it  was  the  work  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society,  for  the 
purpose  of  overawing  and  holding  in  subjection  the  Western  men ; ' 
'  it  was  opposed  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  ' — Heaven 
save  the  Constitution  if  these  men  are  its  defenders ! — '  if  there  were  two 
or  three  days  before  election,  they  would  give  us  occasion  to  use  them.' 
Such  were  the  feelings  and  expressions.  Even  Colonel  Lane,  the 
distinguished  ex-Congressman  of  Indiana,  who  is  now  one  of  our  citi- 
zens, advised  their  being  sent  back.  No,  gentlemen,  they  never  go 
back,  and  if  they  go  into  the  Kansas,  we  go  with  them,  and  we  don't 
go  alone." 


SECRET    ORGANIZATION.  129 

But  to  return  from  this  digression  to  the  condition  of  the 
Territory  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1855.  Notwithstanding 
the  wholesome  influence  of  the  Sharp's  rifles,  petty  annoy- 
ances were  continued  by  the  pro-slavery  men  whenever  the 
advantage  of  an  encounter  was  on  their  side.  Two  or  more 
in  company  would  pounce  upon  a  Free-State  man  when  un- 
armed and  alone,  and  do  more  or  less  bodily  harm.  To  put 
an  end  to  this,  a  secret  organization  was  effected  of  men 
pledged  to  stand  by  each  other  under  all  circumstances,  and 
to  see  that  these  assailants  were  properly  cared  for.  Also  a 
California  bully  was  engaged,  and  paid  by  the  month  to  de- 
vote his  time  to  the  business  in  hand.  This  policy  proved 
to  be  most  successful.  The  name  of  this  man  was  Dave 
Evans,  and  his  only  instructions  were  to  act  on  the  defensive 
with  his  fists  and  revolver,  while  with  his  tongue  he  might 
take  the  offensive  according  to  the  merits  of  each  case. 
While  from  first  to  last  it  was  the  policy  of  the  Free-State 
men  to  do  no  wrong,  and  commit  no  crime,  self-defense  was 
always  in  order.  This  the  pro-slavery  men  could  not  under- 
stand. Because  of  the  discreet  conduct  of  Free-State  men 
they  were  at  first  thought  to  be  cowardly,  but  by  degrees  their 
opponents  opened  their  eyes  to  the  situation.  The  first  man 
killed  was  in  the  fall  of  1854,  soon  after  the  election  of  dele- 
gate to  Congress.  A  pro-slavery  man  in  an  insulting  man- 
ner assaulted  a  Free-State  man,  who  shot  him  dead.  A  trial 
followed,  but  self-defense  was  pleaded  successfully.  After 
the  second  election  another  pro-slavery  man  was  killed. 
Malcolm  Clark,  of  Leavenworth,  a  pro-slavery  man,  assailed 
Cole  McCrea,  a  Free-State  man,  with  a  piece  of  scantling, 
when  McCrea  shot  him  dead.  This  caused  great  excitement 
for  a  time,  and  McCrea  was  held  a  prisoner  at  the  Fort,  but 
as  the  facts  became  known  the  excitement  subsided,  no  in- 
dictment was  found  by  the  grand  jury,  and  the  prisoner  went 
free.  A  few  lessons  of  this  nature  were  eye-openers  to  many 
who  had  despised  the  Free-State  men  as  hirelings  and  pau- 
pers. One  of  the  most  efficient  men  in  this  game  was  S.  N. 
9 


130  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Wood,  of  Quaker  parentage,  from  Ohio.  He  was  ever  ready 
for  a  scrimmage.  One  day,  as  he  called  for  the  mail  for  the 
citizens  of  Lawrence,  at  the  post-office  at  Westport,  while 
behind  the  boxes  with  the  postmaster,  some  person  in  the 
crowd  in  the  store  used  insulting  language  about  him,  which 
Wood  overheard.  When  he  had  procured  his  mail  he 
walked  out  from  behind  the  screen  and  called  for  his  in- 
sulter.  He  was  pointed  out,  when  Wood  suddenly  placed 
him  upon  the  floor,  and  gave  him  the  weight  of  a  Free-State 
fist  in  his  face  and  left  him  among  his  friends.  Again,  Wood 
had  a  claim  against  a  man  for  some  money  which  he  had  re- 
fused to  pay.  He  said  he  had  it  in  his  pocket,  but  he  defied 
any  one  to  get  it.  Wood  immediately  proceeded  to  take 
the  amount  due  from  the  pockets  of  his  debtor.  This  was 
all  the  law  that  was  recognized  at  that  time,  and  Wood,  be- 
ing a  lawyer,  knew  how  to  enforce  it. 

Making  life  a  burden  and  worrying  out  Free-State  settlers 
in  Kansas  by  petty  persecution  was  not  the  only  occupation 
of  the  Slave-State  men.  There  was  a  paper  at  Parkville, 
Missouri,  called  the  Luminary,  that  had  dared  to  criticise  the 
raid  into  Kansas,  and  a  pro-slavery  paper  gives  this  account 
of  its  treatment,  as  published  in  the  Free  State  of  Lawrence, 
May  7,  1855: 

"  PARKVILLE  MOB  RESOLUTIONS. 

" Resolved,  i.  That  the  Parkville  Industrial  Luminary  is  a  nuisance 
which  has  been  endured  too  Tong,  and  should. now  be  abated. 

"  2.  That  the  editors,  to  wit:  G.  S.  Parks  and  W.  J.  Patterson,  are 
traitors  to  the  State  and  country  in  which  they  live,  and  should  be  dealt 
with  as  such. 

"  3.  That  we  meet  here  again  this  day  three  weeks,  and  if  we  find 
G.  S.  Parks  and  W.  J.  Patterson  in  this  town  then,  or  at  any  subse- 
quent time,  we  will  throw  them  into  the  Missouri  River,  and  if  they  go 
to  Kansas  to  reside,  we  pledge  our  honor  as  men  to  follow  and  hang 
them  wherever  we  can  take  them. 

"4.  That,  at  the  suggestion  of  our  Parkville  friends,  we  will  attend 
to  some  other  free-soilers  not  far  off. 

"  5.  That  we  will  suffer  no  person  belonging  to  the  Northern 
Methodist  Church  to  preach  in  Platte  County  after  this  date,  under 


DESTRUCTION    OF    THE    PRESS.  131 

penalty  of  tar  and  feathers  for  the  first  offense,  and  hemp  rope  for  the 
second. 

"  6.  That  we  earnestly  call  upon  our  sister  counties  throughout  the 
State  to  rise  in  their  might  and  clean  themselves  of  free-soilism. 

"  7.  That  our  peace,  our  property,  and  our  safety  require  us  at  this 
time  to  do  our  duty. 

"  8.  That  we  request  every  pro-slavery  paper  in  Missouri  and  Kan- 
sas to  publish  the  above  resolutions. 

"The  press  was  then  shouldered,  with  a  white  cap  drawn  over  its 
head  and  labelled  '  Boston  Aid ' ;  the  crowd  followed  in  regular  order. 
It  was  marched  up  through  town  nearly  to  the  upper  landing,  and  there, 
with  three  hearty  cheers,,  it  was  deposited  in  the  tomb  of  '  all  the  Capu- 
lets,'  to  wit,  the  Missouri  River. 

"A  speech  was  then  made  to  the  crowd,  and  they  dispersed  peace- 
ably, each  taking  the  road  to  his  own  home. 

"  During  the  day  frequent  telegraphic  dispatches  were  received  from 
both  ends  of  the  line,  of  a  most  encouraging  nature.  Sic  transit  gloria 
Saturdi." 

All  Free-State  papers  in  Kansas  were  threatened  with  like 
destruction. 

The  Platte,  Mo.,  Argus,  published  this  under  the  caption 
"  Quietus  of  the  Press  "  : 

"  We  further  say,  that  the  people  having  determined  tfiat  Kansas 
shall  become  a  slave  State,  will  probably  put  a  quietus  upon  abolition 
presses  in  Kansas  Territory.  The  '  freedom  of  the  press  '  is  not  for 
traitors  and  incendiaries,  but  for  those  confining  themselves  within  the 
bounds  of  the  constitution  and  the  laws ;  and  no  bravado,  no  threats  or 
challenges  of  any  character  whatever,  will  prevent  the  people  of  the 
South  from  driving  from  their  midst  men  dangerous  to  their  constitu- 
tional rights  and  liberties." 

Although  the  Legislature  had  been  secured  by  the  inva- 
sion and  the  weakness  of  the  Governor,  those  on  the  border 
and  in  Kansas  knew  very  well  that  the  Free-State  men  were 
not  conquered,  although  temporarily  beaten.  While  the  pro- 
slavery  men  claimed  everything,  and  declared  that  the  ques- 
tion was  forever  settled,  they  were  more  active  than  ever  in 
their  efforts  to  arouse  the  South  and  intimidate  the  North. 
The  Herald  of  Freedom,  of  June  16,  1855,  quotes  the  St. 
Louis  Intelligencer  as  follows  : 


132  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  The  light  that  is  breaking  upon  the  western  horizon  looks  very 
much  like  the  lurid  flame  of  civil  war.  It  is  a  solemn  crisis  that  now 
impends  over  the  country.  We  know  that  agents  are  out  from  western 
Mi>souri,  striving  to  excite  the  people  of  the  rest  of  the  State  to  join 
them  in  the  violent  proceedings  they  have  already  started  in  Platte 
County. 

"  If  they  succeed,  Missouri  will  soon  be  in  a  flame.  It  will  spread 
to  the  South;  the  Union  itself  will  perish  like  a  burnt  scroll! 

"It  is  time  for  every  patriot  to  be  cool  and  firm.  Our  country  must 
not  perish  thus.  Our  homes,  our  property,  wives,  and  children  must 
not  be  given  up  to  civil  war,  mob  law,  and  anarchy,  to  serve  the  purpose 
of  a  few  desperate  politicians.  But  there  is  great  cause  of  alarm,  and 
we  warn  our  friends  throughout  the  State  that  a  volcano  will  speedily 
burst  under  their  feet  and  destroy  the  State  and  the  Union,  unless  they 
have  virtue,  prudence,  and  courage  enough  to  resist  approaches  that  will 
be  made  to  them." 

In  the  same  issue  the  Squatter  Sovereign  is  quoted  as 
saying : 

"  From  reports  now  received  of  Reeder,  he  never  intends  returning 
to  our  borders.  Should  he  do  so,  u<e,  without  hesitation,  say  that  our 
people  ought  to  hang  him  by  the  neck,  like  a  traitor s  dog,  as  he  is,  so  soon 
as  he  puts  his  nnhalhm'ed  feet  upon  cur  shores. 

"  *  *  *  Reeder  is  unworthy  of  the  place  he  fills — wholly  unfit  to 
rule  the  independent  sovereigns  of  Kansas.  lie  cannot  longer  act  as 
their  Governor.  They  will  not  submit  to  it.  We  call  upon  our  people 
to  take  the  matter  in  hand.  There  is  no  other  remedy.  Vindicate  your 
characters  and  the  Territory,  and  should  the  ungrateful  dog  dart  to  conu\ 
amongst  us  again,  hang  him  to  t  lie  first  rotten  tree.  There  is  no  other 
remedy,  and  the  character  of  ourselves  and  our  country  requires  us  to 
.act.  A  military  force  demanded — poor,  contemptible  puppy! — could 
an  honorable,  high-minded  American  citizen  ever  dream  of  such  a  de- 
mand? Nothing  but  the  dark  and  muddy  waters  of  abolitionism  could 
have  produced  such  an  offspring  as  Reeder." 

The  St.  Louis  News  had  this  to  say : 

"  What  has  become  of  David  R.  Atchison,  the  former  Vice-President, 
by  courtesy,  of  the  United  States,  the  wagon  orator,  the  man  who  con- 
tended with  Stephen  A.  Douglas  for  the  honor  of  having  repealed  the 
Missouri  Compromise;  the  boozy  backwoods  speaker,  who,  in  his 
maudlin  speeches,  blackguards  better  and  greater  men  than  himself,  and 
speaks  of  John  Bell  as  a  '  miserable  devil ' — where  is  he?  He  left  his 
seat  and  duties  in  the  Senate,  and  came  to  Missouri,  before  the  close  of 


SOUTHERN*    SENTIMENT.  133 

Congress,  to  get  himself  elected  to  the  Senate  for  a  second  term,  but  he 
didn't  succeed. 

"  Rumors  have  reached  us  of  tremendous  threats  made  by  him  in  re- 
lation to  Missouri  and  Kansas,  and  we  should  like  to  know  if  he  is  go- 
ing to  carry  them  out.  We  understand  and  believe  that  David  R. 
Atchison  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  troubles  that  have  afflicted  Kansas, 
and  is  the  chief  instigator  of  the  meetings,  mobs  and  cabals,  threats  and 
excitements  which  threaten  to  plunge  the  border  into  a  wild  fratricidal 
strife.  Atchison  is  the  prime  mover,  and  Stringfellow  is  his  man  of  all 
work.  Atchison  is  safely  and  quietly  ensconced  in  his  Platte  County 
farm,  testing  the  glories  of  those  five  barrels  of  '  Derby,'  while  his 
myrmidons,  to  whom  he  gives  his  orders,  are  scouring  the  country  and 
arousing  the  people  by  flaming  appeals  to  strife  and  bloodshed. 

"  Does  our  boozy  '  Old  Bourbon '  think  he  is  going  to  drift  on  the 
current  of  this  fierce  storm  into  the  United  States  Senate?  If  so,  he  is 
mistaken.  Missouri  will  not  permit  herself  to  be  represented  in  the 
national  councils  by  a  political  gambler,  who  would  jeopardize  his 
country's  peace  for  his  own  selfish,  sordid  aggrandizement." 

The  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Mercury  sent  up  this  shout  of  vic- 
tory : 

"THE  KANSAS  HOWL. 

"  Xever  since  the  world  began,  among  the  demons  in  Milton's  '  black 
abyss,'  or  the  damned  in  Dante's  Inferno,  has  there  been  heard  such  a 
howl  as  is  now  set  up  all  over  the  North,  by  the  dogs  of  fanaticism, 
upon  their  recent  drubbing  in  Kansas.  The  abolition  journals  pour 
out  daily  diatribes  against  the  hardy  Missourians  who  drove  away  from 
their  doors  the  horde  of  negro-stealers  who  threatened  to  overwhelm 
them.  Now,  really,  the  whole  affair  is  decidedly  '  the  best  joke  of  the 
season.'  Bent  upon  ousting  slavery  from  this  fertile  region  by  any  and 
all  means,  not  willing  that  civilization  should  flow  on  in  its  natural 
course,  and  determine  by  natural  laws  its  institutions,  but  hastening  to 
fill  it  up  with  hireling  fanatics,  seize  the  polls  and  control  the  Govern- 
ment. The  abolitionists  find  themselves  beaten,  routed  at  their  own 
game — their  CKL'n  emissaries  made  to  vote  the  slavery  ticket — while  the 
triumphant  Missourians  march  back  to  Independence  with  colors  flying 
and  bands  of  music,  rejoicing  that  '  Kansas  is  safe!'  No  wonder  they 
now  howl  and  rend  their  garments,  for  fanaticism  has  for  once  met  its 
master  and  been  made  to  crouch.  It  is  a  signal  and  timely  lesson. 
Had  the  South  in  its  past  contest  exhibited  half  the  courage  and  prompt- 
ness of  Atchison  and  his  true  men,  abolitionism  would  have  been  long 
since  a  harmless  thing.  It  is  also  a  timely  lesson  to  the  North,  yet 
which  will  scarcely  be  heeded  in  its  present  fierce  and  aggressive  mood, 


134  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

that  there  is  a  point  at  which  the  South  will  rise  and  wipe  out,  with 
deeds  worthy  of  her  hope  and  destiny,  the  wrongs  and  shame  of  the 
past." 

But,  while  the  South  was  being  thus  cultivated  for  a  new 
crop  of  invaders,  the  field  in  Kansas  was  not  overlooked. 
Claim  disputes  were  frequent,  and  persons  singled  out  for 
mob  violence.  Near  Lecompton  two  men,  Hancock  and 
Oakley,  were  removed  from  their  claims,  and  one  cabin 
burned.  "  Marauding  expeditions,"  says  the  Herald  of  Free- 
dom of  June  2,  1855,  "  were  frequently  sent  out  for  the  pur- 
pose of  annoying  the  settlers,  or  with  the  view  of  expelling 
them  from  their  claims."  Nothing  could  so  influence  the 
people  of  Missouri  and  the  South  as  negro-stealing,  as  it  was 
termed,  and  if  a  person  was  to  be  made  specially  obnoxious, 
this  charge  would  be  made.  To  mob  a  "nigger"  thief 
would  meet  with  the  highest  approval  and  reward.  Among 
others  the  local  agent  of  the  Aid  Company  was  set  apart  for 
consideration.  The  Herald  of  Freedom  of  June  16,  1855, 
has  this  clipping  from  the  Frontier  A~< 

"  We  every  day  see  handbills  offering  rewards  for  runaway  negroes 
from  Jackson  and  neighboring  counties.  Where  do  they  go?  There  is 
an  underground  railroad  leading  out  of  western  Missouri,  and  we  would 
respectfully  refer  owners  of  lost  niggers  to  the  conductors  of  these 
trains.  Inquire  of  Dr.  Robinson,  sole  agent  for  the  transportation  of 
fugitive  niggers." 

In  the  issue  of  the  23d  of  the  same  month  is  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  Dr.  Robinson  is  the  sole  agent  for  the  underground  railroad  leading 
out  of  western  Missouri,  for  the  transportation  of  fugitive  'niggers.'  His 
office  is  in  Lawrence,  K.  T.  Give  him  a  call." — Leavenworth  Herald. 

To  which  the  editor  of  the  Hemld  of  Freedom  added  : 

"  We  will  go  bail  for  the  Doctor  that  he  will  be  happy  to  receive  a 
visit  from  his  friends  at  any  time.  Messrs.  Eastin  and  Pollard,  when 
shall  we  inform  Dr.  R.  that  you  and  party  will  call  upon  him  ? '' 


CURRENT    GOSSIP.  135 

This  defiant  attitude  was  inspired  by  the  one  hundred 
Sharp's  rifles,  brought  by  Deitzler  in  April,  which  were  put 
into  the  hands  of  a  military  company  named  "  Stubbs." 

The  Herald  of  Freedom  of  June  16,  1855,  presents  this 
picture  of  the  current  gossip : 

"A  FALSE  REPORT. 

"A  correspondent  of  the  Frontier  KCT.VS,  writing  from  Franklin,  in 
this  Territory,  gives  the  following  startling  intelligence : 

"  '  Three  boats  have  passed  up.  One  of  them  landed  five  hundred 
Sharp's  rifles  at  Lawrence,  as  a  present  from  the  Know-Xothing  Legis- 
lature of  Connecticut  to  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society.  Now,  what  flour- 
ishes!  Here  guns  have  been  fixed  up  in  an  armory,  ready  for  use. 
Let  another  squad  of  Missourians  go  to  Lawrence  for  their  runaway 
negroes,  and  they  will  see  sights.  I  understand  that  the  Aid  Society 
men  are  to  be  organized  with  a  regiment  of  one  thousand  men,  to  be 
armed  with  these  rifles — one  gun  to  two  men — one  to  hold  while  the 
other  shoots.  The  valiant  Dr.  Robinson  is  to  be  commander.  The 
Doctor  has  a  military  reputation — he  killed  his  man  in  California  by 
knocking  out  a  sleeping  man's  brains  with  a  bar  of  iron.  The  Doctor 
will  do.  This  regiment  is  to  march  to  Pawnee  when  the  Legislature 
meets  and  compel  that  body  to  give  seats  to  Wood,  Wakefield,  and  other 
abolition  candidates  who  were  so  badly  defeated  on  the  3Oth  of  March.' 

"  Provided  that  report  is  true,  when  our  border  neighbors  visit  Law- 
rence again  they  will  need  to  come  strong-handed.  If  it  required  a 
thousand  men  and  two  cannon,  with  a  heavy  reserve  who  were  sent  to 
other  districts  beyond  this,  to  reduce  Lawrence  to  subjection  on  the  3Oth 
of  March  last,  when  we  had  less  than  two  hundred  resident  voters  in 
the  city,  and  only  partially  armed  with  shot-guns  at  that,  how  many 
men,  cannon,  etc.,  will  it  require  when  we  are  prepared  with  five  hun- 
dred Sharp's  rifles,  each  capable  of  throwing  ten  balls  per  minute,"  with 
exact  precision,  a  distance  of  one  mile,  and,  it  is  said,  will  carry  very 
accurately  a  distance  of  even  three  miles?  We  hope  that  the  report  of 
our  neighbor's  correspondent  is  true.  We  would  suggest  that  the  next 
paper  which  copies  that  statement  add,  as  additional  information,  that 
one  hundred  thousand  cartridges,  ready  for  immediate  service,  accom- 
panied the  arms.  The  additional  information  will  be  in  keeping  with 
the  other  statement. 

"And  as  to  our  commander:  If  Dr.  Robinson  killed  his  man  in 
California  after  a  ball  had  passed  through  his  body  only  two  inches  be- 
low his  heart,  and  had  the  ability  to  inspire  a  handful  of  men  with  so 
much  bravery  on  that  occasion,  what  will  he  not  do  when  the  eyes  of 
the  whole  nation  are  upon  him  urging  him  to  duty,  and  he  is  seconded 


136  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

in  every  action  by  the  thousand  brave  men  who  are  ready  to  die  in  pref- 
erence to  becoming  slaves?     Will  our  neighbor  answer?  " 

While  the  partisans  of  the  South  were  endeavoring  to  reap 
the  fruits  of  the  invasion,  the  effect  in  the  North  was  very 
encouraging  to  Free-State  settlers.  They  were  firm  believers 
in  the  law  of  retribution,  and  were  only  concerned  that  their 
own  conduct  should  be  such  as  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
this  law.  Action  and  reaction  are  equal,  and  the  rebound 
from  the  election  was  most  terrific.  It  shook  to  its  founda- 
tions the  most  powerful  party  ever  in  authority.  The  leading 
organs  of  that  party  were  as  outspoken  and  denunciatory  as 
the  most  radical  press.  Some  extracts  follow : 

"  RIFLES  FOR  KANSAS. 

"  It  is  stated  that  some  hundreds  of  Sharp's  rifles  have  been  sent  out 
from  Massachusetts,  at  the  request  of  the  new  immigrants,  to  assist  in 
the  election.  With  this,  we  understand,  the  aid  associations  have  noth- 
ing to  do;  it  is  entirely  an  individual  affair." — Exchange. 

"  Things  are  come  to  a  pretty  pass  when  '  rifles  '  are  to  '  assist  in 
our  American  elections.'  The  violent  and  indefensible  conduct  of  the 
Missourians  residing  on  the  border,  in  interfering  in  the  affairs  of  Kan- 
sas in  a  forcible  manner,  is  the  cause  of  the  '  material  aid  '  now  being 
sent  out  from  Massachusetts  in  the  shape  of  rifles.  It  is  high  time  that 
the  disgraceful  scenes  of  turbulence  and  bloodshed,  which  have  thus  far 
characterized  the  organization  of  the  Government  in  Kansas,  were  put 
an  end  to,  for  they  are  scandalizing  the  country.  Upon  Senator  Atchi- 
son  and  his  friends  in  Missouri  rests  the  chief  odium  of  this  late  high 
handed  proceeding." — Cincinnati  Enquirer. 

"SENATOR  ATCHISON  AND  HIS  OLD  FR11.XDS. 

"  No  one  could  have  felt  more  regret  than  ourselves  at  the  course 
pursued  by  the  armed  bands  of  men  who  left  Missouri,  not  with  a  view 
to  settle  in  the  Territory  of  Kansas,  but  to  overawe  the  actual  residents 
and  control  the  elections  there  held.  We  saw  clearly  that  public  opin- 
ion, even  among  those  who  are  willing  to  go  all  lengths  to  protect  the 
South  in  her  just  rights,  would  not  extenuate,  much  less  sanction,  so 
gross  a  violation  of  every  principle  of  Republican  Ciovernment. 

"  We  have  heard  Southern  men  denounce  the  act  as  one  of  madness, 
which  would,  in  the  end,  produce  its  bitter  fruits,  by  alienating  the  pa- 
triotic men  of  the  Middle  States  from  the  South,  or  render  them  luke- 


DEMOCRATIC    PRESS.  137 

warm.  Already  the  effect  of  Missouri  violence  begins  to  manifest  itself, 
and  Senator  Atchison  is  denounced  in  a  manner  which  will  very  much 
damage  his  reputation  as  a  public  man  and  a  good  citizen.  Some  of  the 
papers  not  wedded  to  abolitionism  describe  him  as  a  roving  bandit, 
armed  with  a  bowie-knife,  revolver,  and  rifle,  and  marching  at  the  head 
of  an  infuriated  .mob  of  misguided  men. 

"  If  this  description  be  a  truthful  one,  he  is  just  the  man  that  the 
Government  should  arrest,  if  it  has  the  authority,  or  sustain  Governor 
Reeder  in  doing  the  same  thing,  if  the  power  is  vested  in  him.  Au- 
thority to  punish  such  an  offense  lies  somewhere,  and  in  the  absence  of 
any  statutory  provision,  the  common  law  is  adapted  to  just  such  an 
emergency. 

"  The  story  is  current  in  Philadelphia  that  Senator  Atchison  remarked 
to  a  number  of  gentlemen  in  Washington  City,  '  that  the  duty  of  estab- 
lishing slavery  in  Kansas  had  devolved  on  him.' 

11  He  had  pledged  his  word  that  should  be  done,  and  by  all  that  was 
holy,  he  would  do  it  at  every  hazard.  His  own  salvation  depended 
upon  the  successful  execution  of  his  pledge.'  No  fair-minded  man  can 
doubt  the  right  of  Senator  Atchison  to  legally  execute  his  purpose.  We 
hold  the  Territory  to  be  as  much  the  property  of  the  South  as  the  North, 
and  equally  susceptible  of  receiving  their  peculiar  institutions  ;  but  their 
institutions  can  no  more  be  established  by  violence  than  those  of  the 
most  ultra  abolitionists." — Pennsylvania*!. 

"  When  we  characterize  this  as  an  infamous  outrage,  we  use  the 
mildest  terms  we  can  think  of  to  convey  our  meaning.  We  supported 
the  Nebraska-Kansas  bill  on  principle,  and  we  still  believe  the  principle 
to  be  correct ;  but  in  the  name  of  justice  and  freedom,  we  solemnly  pro- 
test against  the  conduct  of  the  Missourian  ruffians,  and  call  upon  the 
proper  authorities  of  Kansas  to  repudiate  the  election  as  illegal  and 
fraudulent.  If  the  actual  residents  of  Kansas,  with  all  the  blighting  in- 
fluences of  slavery  before  their  eyes,  decide  to  plant  that  institution  in 
their  fair  Territory,  we  shall  submit,  because  the  voice  of  the  majority, 
fairly  expressed,  should  and  must  govern  in  this  country ;  but  God  for- 
bid that  either  the  North  or  the  South  should  stand  by  and  see  it  planted 
there  by  force  and  fraud  without  raising  their  voice,  and  if  needs  be  their 
arms,  against  the  consummation  of  so  gross  and  lawless  an  outrage."— 
Harris  burg  (Pa.)  Union. 

"GOVERNOR  REEDER,  OF  KANSAS. 

"  The  Governor  of  Kansas,  what  is  he?  Who  is  he?  Who  made 
him?  Why  was  he  made?  Does  he  stand  for  anything?  Has  he  a 
function?  A  responsibility?  An  authority?  A  jurisdiction?  Is  he 
really  a  bearer  of  office  ?  Is  there  a  spark  of  gubernatorial  life  in  or 


138  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

about  him?  Or  is  he  a  man  of  straw,  a  thing  tricked  out  in  official  garb, 
but  with  a  broom-stick  for  a  back-bone  and  chalk  for  brains?  It  is  high 
time  for  those  whose  handiwork  he  is  to  give  an  account  of  him,  to  tell 
us  what  manner  of  creature  he  is.  If  Governor  Keeder  is  not  a  sham, 
so  made  and  so  kept  up,  he  ought  to  know  it.  Either  he  himself  is  an 
imposition,  or  he  is  most  outrageously  imposed  upon. 

"  One  thing  is  certain,  Governor  Reeder  practically  counts  as  noth- 
ing in  the  administration  of  Kansas.  The  Territory  is  at  the  mercy  of 
a  most  abandoned  set  of  vagabonds,  the  most  abandoned  that  ever  pol- 
luted the  free  soil  of  a  country.  There  is  actually  neither  governor  nor 
government.  Brute  force  is  the  only  rule.  Men  have  talked  of  the  Ne- 
braska iniquity;  but  that  iniquity  is  spotlessness  itself  in  comparison 
with  the  abuse  which  has  been  made  of  it.  The  pledge-breaking  was 
bad  enough,  but  it  was  done  in  the  name  of  a  principle.  It  is  now  the 
principle  itself  that  is  set  at  defiance,  and,  in  every  conceivable  way,  out- 
raged. The  destroyers  of  the  Compromise  invoked  the  ri^ht  of  popular 
self-government  as  a  justification  of  their  bad  faith,  and  therewith  alone 
they  carried  their  case.  The  Compromise  disposed  of,  it  is  now  the 
turn  of  the  popular  right  itself,  and  its  trustees,  to  suffer.  The  agree- 
ment of  1820  was  superseded  for  the  doctrine  of  squatter  sovereignty. 
The  doctrine  of  squatter  sovereignty  is  superseded  by  invasion  and  vio- 
lence. It  is  absolutely  certain — as  certain  as  full  and  uncontradicted 
testimony  can  make  it — that  the  election  in  Kansas  for  delegates  to  Con- 
gress, and  the  recent  election  for  members  of  the  territorial  Legislature, 
were  both  controlled  by  armed  intruders  from  Missouri.  The  real  set- 
tlers of  the  country  were  outnumbered  by  men  who  took  possession 
of  the  polls  with  a  strong  hand,  and  voted  without  right.  The  Mi>- 
sourians  themselves  who  engaged  in  this  business  not  only  admit  it,  but 
they  boast  of  it.  The  journals  of  western  Missouri  not  only  furnish 
accounts  of  the  departures  and  returns  of  the  different  detachments,  but 
make  grand  flourishes  over  the  success  achieved.  The  only  coloring 
they  seek  to  put  upon  their  baseness  is  a  pretension  that  the  errand  of 
the  invaders  was  to  baffle  like  invasions  from  the  Kastern  States.  It  is 
a  transparent  mockery,  which  only  adds  insult  to  injury. 

"The  wrong  has  been  committed.  The  question  now  is,  shall  it 
stand?  Is  this  usurped  election  to  hold  good?  Governor  Reeder  is  a 
witness  against  it ;  but  what  is  Governor  Reeder  without  the  support  of 
the  Federal  Government?  He  has  not  a  man  at  his  command.  So  far 
from  being  in  a  situation  to  extend  protection  to  others,  he  has  been 
covered  with  obloquy,  been  visited  with  deadliest  threats  ;  he  has  been 
obliged  to  repair  to  Washington  to  make  his  extremity  better  known, 
and  upon  his  heels  comes  a  proclamation  that  his  power  is  at  an  end.  and 
a  demand  is  made  upon  the  President  of  the  Unite' 1  States  that  a  Gov- 
ernor shall  be  designated  in  the  same  way  as  the  Legislature  was  chosen ; 


DEMOCRATIC    CENSURE.  139 

in  other  words,  that  the  original  villainy  shall  be  carried  out  with  a  fit 
instrument.  The  President  has  but  one  line  of  duty.  He  is  bound  to 
make  the  Federal  law  respected.  He  is  bound  to  protect  the  territorial 
rights  of  the  settlers  of  Kansas,  and  to  uphold,  in  all  the  breadth  of  its 
application,  the  principle  of  squatter  sovereignty.  He  is  bound  to  invali- 
date the  late  election  as  a  monstrous  piece  of  illegality,  and  to  provide 
Governor  Reeder  with  an  armed  force  sufficient  to  protect  the  polls.  He 
is  bound  to  install  Governor  Reeder,  the  judges,  and  the  marshals,  into 
not  only  nominal,  but  into  real  power,  and  to  provide  them  with  every 
means  for  completing  the  organization  of  the  Territory  in  accordance 
with  the  law  which  gave  it  existence.  If  soldiers  are  necessary,  soldiers 
must  be  sent.  Bayonets  would  be  a  thousand  times  better  turned 
>t  these  depredators  upon  civil  rights,  these  bandits  of  civilization, 
than  against  the  wronged  and  suffering  Indians  of  the  wilderness.  The 
President,  who  has  the  power,  must  either  undo  the  wrong  or  share 
the  guilt.  He  is  to  act  neither  as  an  anti-slavery  man  nor  as  a  pro- 
slavery  man,  but  as  the  Executive  of  the  United  States,  sworn  to  see 
that  the  Federal  laws  are  faithfully  carried  into  effect. 

"  We  have  yet  seen  no  evidence  that  the  Southern  people  will  sanc- 
tion or  countenance  these  trespasses.  We  cannot  believe  that  they 
will ;  but  whether  they  will  or  not,  official  duty  remains  the  same. 

"The  settlers  of  Kansas  must  be  protected  in  their  rights.  The 
principle  of  sovereignty  which  the  law  consecrates,  under  the  guaranty 
and  with  a  full  understanding  of  which  the  settlers  have  moved  their 
homes,  must  be  fully  sustained  and  vindicated." — A".  Y.  Courier  ana 
Enquirer, 

"  This  Congressional  District,  well  known  as  '  the  Old  Tenth  Legion,' 
gave  General  Pierce  over  five  thousand  majority,  and  sent  Asa  Packer 
to  Congress  by  a  still  larger  vote.  No  one  will  deny  that  he  was  a  firm 
and  consistent  friend  of  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill,  and  his  course 
was  approved  by  a  larger  majority  than  any  member  on  the  floor  in  the 
next  House  of  Congress  will  be  able  to  boast.  The  Democrats  of  this 
district  are  sound  national  men — neither  nullifiers  nor  abolitionists. 
They  despise  the  one  as  heartily  as  the  other.  They  approve  of  the 
doctrine  of  '  popular  sovereignty,'  but  they  desire  it  to  be  fairly,  legally, 
and  honorably  carried  out.  If  it  can  be  proven  that  men  are  sent  from 
Xew  England  to  Kansas  for  the  mere  purpose  of  voting,  they  should 
be  expelled  from  the  country.  Such  men  have  no  business  there.  But 
we  are  inclined  to  doubt  if  this  has  ever  been  done.  It  is  not  very 
likely  that  men  would  travel  two  thousand  miles  with  the  single  object  to 
vote  at  a  territorial  election.  Besides,  we  have  ourselves  seen  hundreds 
of  the  men  who  went  to  Kansas  under  the  auspices  of  the  '  Emigrant 
Aid  Company '  settled  down  on  their  claims,  living  in  their  cabins  and 


140  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ploughing  up  the  land.  The  Missourians  do  not  do  this  ;  they  go  one 
day  and  return  home  the  next.  To  this  we  have  a  right,  as  Democrats 
and  American  citizens,  to  object,  and  we  do  protest  against  it  most 
solemnly.  It  cannot  be  defended  on  any  principle  of  right  and  justice, 
and  if  the  doctrine  of  '  popular  sovereignty  '  is  not  enforced  in  its  purity 
— if  these  invasions  are  not  checked — if  the  state  of  things  now  existing 
in  Kansas  is  not  improved,  we  pledge  our  word  and  honor  that  it  will 
be  the  last '  popular  sovereignty  '  bill  the  Democracy  of  Pennsylvania 
will  ever  aid  in  passing.  We  look  with  equal  contempt  on  the  howlings 
of  abolitionists  and  nullifiers,  and  profess  to  speak  only  for  National 
Democrats,  and  the  sensible  and  prudent  of  all  parties." — Easton  (Pa.) 
A  rgus. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  both  the  Free-soil  and  national 
Democratic  press  of  the  North  afforded  great  aid  and  com- 
fort to  the  picket  guard  of  freemen  on  the  frontier.  Only 
one  party  in  the  North  gave  no  word  of  encouragement,  and 
that  was  the  Garrisonian  party.  But  one  full-fledged  Garri- 
sonian,  Charles  Stearns,  could  be  found  in  Kansas,  and  he 
quarrelled  with  the  aid  companies,  their  agents,  and  the 
policy  adopted  by  the  Free-State  party.  So  bitter  were  his 
denunciations  of  the  resident  agent  of  the  Aid  Company  that 
the  papers  refused  to  print  some  of  them.  He  wrote  to  the 
Liberator  of  February  16,  1855,  as  follows: 

"  It  is  true  we  denounce  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  because  we  be- 
lieve it  to  be  a  hindrance  to  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  a  mighty  curse 
to  the  Territory ;  but  we  are  the  only  ones  who  have  taken  a  decided 
ground  on  the  anti-slavery  question.  I  have  never  heard  of  the  Law- 
rence Association  ever  passing  any  anti-slavery  resolutions. 

"  Another  point  of  importance  is,,  that  this  association,  with  Robin- 
son at  its  head,  advocates  brute  force  in  opposing  the  Missourians. 
Said  Mr.  R.  to  the  marshal,  in  reference  to  some  Missourians  arrested 
for  threatening  the  Yankees :  '  If  they  fire,  do  you  make  them  bite  the 
dust,  and  I  will  find  coffins.' " 

The  Liberator  of  April  13,  1855,  said:  "Beyond  a  doubt 
the  fate  of  Kansas  is  sealed." 

In  the  same  paper  of  June  i,  1855,  it  said : 

"  Will  Kansas  be  a  free  State?  We  answer  no,  not  while  the  existing 
Union  stands.  Its  fate  is  settled.  We  shall  briefly  state  some  of  the 
reasons  which  force  us  to  this  sad  conclusion. 


VIEWS    OF    GARRISONIANS.  141 

"  I.  The  South  is  united  in  the  determination  to  make  Kansas  a  slave 
State — ultimately,  by  division,  half  a  dozen  slave  States,  if  necessary. 
She  has  never  yet  been  foiled  in  her  purposes  thus  concentrated  and  ex- 
pressed, and  she  has  too  much  at  stake  to  allow  free  speech,  a  free  press, 
and  free  labor  to  hold  the  mastery  in  that  Territory. 

"2.  Eastern  emigration  will  avail  nothing  to  keep  slavery  out  of 
Kansas.  We  have  never  had  any  faith  in  it  as  a  breakwater  against  the 
inundation  of  the  dark  waters  of  oppression.  Hardly  an  abolitionist 
can  be  found  among  all  who  have  emigrated  to  that  country.  Un- 
doubtedly the  mass  of  emigrants  are  in  favor  of  making  Kansas  a  free 
State,  as  a  matter  of  sound  policy,  and  would  do  so  if  they  were  not 
under  the  dominion  of  Missouri  ruffianism,  or  if  they  could  rely  upon 
sympathy  of  the  general  Government  in  this  terrible  crisis ;  but  they 
have  not  gone  to  Kansas  to  be  martyrs  in  the  cause  of  the  enslaved  negro, 
nor  to  sacrifice  their  chances  for  a  homestead  upon  the  altar  of  princi- 
ple, but  to  find  a  comfortable  home  for  themselves  and  their  children. 
Before  they  emigrated  they  gave  little  or  no  countenance  to  the  anti- 
slavery  cause  at  home.  They  partook  of  the  general  hostility  or  indif- 
ference to  the  labors  of  radical  abolitionism ;  at  least  they  could  only 
dream  of  making  '  freedom  national  and  slavery  sectional  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  fathers,'  and  they  were  poisoned  more  or  less  with  virus  of 
colorphobia.  If  they  had  no  pluck  here,  what  could  be  rationally  ex- 
pected of  them  in  the  immediate  presence  of  the  demoniacal  spirit  of 
slavery?  They  represent  the  average  sentiment  of  the  North  on  this 
subject — nothing  more — and  that  is  still  subservient  to  the  will  of  the 
South.  *  *  * 

"  3.  The  omnipotent  power  of  the  general  Government  will  co- 
operate with  the  vandals  of  Missouri  to  crush  out  what  little  anti-slavery 
sentiment  may  exist  in  Kansas,  and  to  sustain  their  lawless  proceedings 
in  that  Territory.  This  will  prove  decisive  in  the  struggle. 

"  4.  On  the  subject  of  slavery,  there  is  no  principle  in  the  Kansas 
papers  ostensibly  desirous  of  making  it  a  free  State.  Here,  for  in- 
stance, is  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  of  May  1 2th,  published  in  Lawrence, 
which  claims  to  be,  and  we  believe  is,  the  most  outspoken  journal  in 
Kansas  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  bona  fide  settlers.  What  does  its  ed- 
itor say?  Listen  :  '  While  publishing  a  paper  in  Kansas,  we  feel  that  it 
is  not  our  province  to  discuss  the  subject  of  freedom  or  slavery  in  the 
States.'  Is  not  this  the  most  heartless  inhumanity,  the  most  arrant, 
moral  cowardice,  the  clearest  demonstration  of  unsoundness  of  mind? 

"  These  are  some  of  the  reasons  why  we  believe  Kansas  will  inevita- 
bly be  a  slave  State." 

Rev.  T.  W.  Higginson  is  reported  in  the  Liberator  of 
June  1 6,  1854,  as  follows: 


142  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  Here,  for  instance,  is  the  Nebraska  Emigration  Society.  It  is,  in- 
deed, a  noble  enterprise,  and  I  am  proud  that  it  owes  its  origin  to  a 
Worcester  man;  but  where  is  the  good  of  emigrating  to  Nebraska,  if 
Nebraska  is  to  be  only  a  transplanted  Massachusetts,  and  the  original 
Massachusetts  has  been  tried  and  found  wanting?  Will  the  stream  rise 
higher  than  its  source?  Settle  your  Nebraska  ten  years,  and  you  will 
have  your  New  England  harvest  of  corn  and  grain  more  luxuriant  in 
that  virgin  soil.  Ah!  But  will  not  the  other  Massachusetts  crop  come 
also,  of  political  demagogues  and  wire-pullers,  and  a  sectarian  religion 
which  will  insure  the  passage  of  the  greatest  hypocrite  to  heaven,  if  he 
will  join  the  right  church  before  he  goes?  And  give  the  emigrants 
twenty  years  more  of  prosperity,  and  then  ask  them,  if  you  dare,  to 
break  the  law,  and  disturb  order,  and  risk  life,  merely  to  save  their 
State  from  the  shame  that  has  just  blighted  Massachusetts." 

Wendell  Phillips  is  reported  in  the  Liberator  of  September 
28  and  August  10,  1855,  as  follows: 

"  Talk  about  stopping  the  progress  of  slavery  and  of  saving  Nebraska 
and  Kansas!  Why,  the  fate  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas  was  sealed  the 
first  hour  Stephen  Arnold  Douglas  consented  to  play  his  perfidious  part. 

"  Why  is  Kansas  a  failure  as  a  free  State?  I  will  tell  you.  You 
sent  out  there  some  thousand  or  two  thousand  men — for  what?  To 
make  a  living;  to  cultivate  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres ;  to  build  h<>u.>e>  ; 
to  send  for  their  wives  and  children  ;  to  raise  wheat ;  to  make  money; 
to  build,  saw-mills  ;  to  plant  towns.  You  meant  to  take  possession  of 
the  country,-  as  the  Yankee  race  always  takes  possession  of  a  country — 
by  industry,  by  civilization,  by  roads,  by  houses,  by  mills,  by  churches. 
But  it  will  take  a  long  time ;  it  takes  twn  centuries  to  iio  it. 

"  The  moment  you  throw  the  struggle  with  slavery  into  the  half- bar- 
barous West,  where  things  are  decided  by  the  revolver  and  bowie-knife, 
slavery  triumphs. 

"  What  do  I  care  for  a  squabble  around  the  ballot-box  in  Kansas?  " 

The  policy  of  repudiation  of  the  election  and  Legislature 
gradually  gained  strength  in  Kansas,  and  was  formally  an- 
nounced in  resolutions.  At  a  meeting  held  June  25,  1855, 
at  Lawrence,  these  resolutions,  among  others,  were  adopted : 

"Resolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  making  Kansas  a  free  Territory. 
and  as  a  consequence  a  free  State. 

"/iVWrvv/,  That  we  look  upon  the  conduct  of  a  portion  of  the  people 
of  Missouri  in  the  late  Kansas  election  as  a  gross  outrage  upon  the  elect- 


DEMOCRATIC    CONVENTION.  143 

ive  franchise  and  our  rights  as  free  men,  and  a  violation  of  the  princi- 
ples of  popular  sovereignty ;  and,  inasmuch  as  many  of  the  members  of 
the  present  Legislature  are  men  who  owe  their  election  to  a  combined 
system  of  force  and  fraud,  we  do  not  feel  bound  to  obey  any  law  of  their 
enacting. 

"Resolved,  That  the  legally  elected  members  of  the  present  Legisla- 
ture be  requested,  as  good  citizens  of  Kansas,  to  resign  and  repudiate 
the  fraud. 

"Resolved,  That  in  reply  to  the  threats  of  war  so  frequently  made  in 
our  neighboring  State,  our  answer  is  we  are  ready.  (On  account  of 
Sharp's  rifles.) 

"Resolved,  That  we  urge  upon  the  people  of  Kansas  to  throw  away 
all  minor  issues,  and  make  the  freedom  of  Kansas  the  only  issue." 

June  27,  1855,  James  H.  Lane  makes  his  first  public  ap- 
pearance. He  arrived  in  Kansas  about  the  2oth  of  April, 
but  had  not  before  appeared  in  public  councils  or  conven- 
tions. Rumors  said  he  came  to  Kansas  in  favor  of  slavery ; 
tried  to  purchase  a  female  slave  on  credit  in  Missouri,  but 
could  not  get  trusted ;  had  quarrelled  with  and  separated 
from  his  wife,  and  jumped  a  Free-State  man's  claim,  besides 
voting  in  Congress  to  open  Kansas  to  slavery.  At  this  date 
a  National  Democratic  Convention  was  held,  with  James  H. 
Lane  as  chairman,  and  Dr.  J.  N.  O.  P.  Wood  as  secretary. 
A  committee  on  resolutions  was  appointed,  consisting  of  E. 
Chapman,  C.  W.  Babcock,  Dr.  James  Garvin,  J.  S.  Emery, 
and  Hugh  Cameron.  Resolutions  were  reported  and  adopted, 
some  of  which  follow : 

"Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  the  best  interests  of 
Kansas  require  an  early  organization  of  the  Democratic  party  upon  truly 
national  grounds  ;  and  that  we  pledge  ourselves  to  use  all  honorable  ex- 
ertions to  secure  such  a  result. 

"Resolved,  That  we  fully  endorse  and  re-affirm  the  Democratic  plat- 
form as  laid  down  at  the  National  Democratic  Convention  held  at  Bal- 
timore in  1852." 

No  repudiation  here.  Mr.  Chapman,  one  of  the  com- 
mittee on  resolutions,  had  been  elected  councilman  by  the 
invasion  of  the  3oth  of  March,  and  Hugh  Cameron,  another 


144  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

member,  was  judge  of  election  and  received  the  invaders' 
votes. 

The  Herald  of  Freedom,  of  June  3oth,  thus  comments  upon 
this  convention : 

"  \Ve  regret  to  learn  that  measures  were  taken  by  a  few  persons  on 
Wednesday  evening  last  to  organize  a  Democratic  party  of  this  Terri- 
tory. Such  a  movement  can  result  in  no  good  to  any  one,  but  may  do 
much  damage.  There  is  but  one  issue  pending  in  Kansas,  and  that 
issue  must  be  settled  before  others  are  precipitated  upon  us..  The 
movement  looks  to  us  like  an  effort  to  suppress  the  public  will,  and  we 
hope  it  will  not  be  successful." 

The  Free  State  and  Tribune  also  took  a  similar  position, 
as  the  editors  of  both  papers  attended  the  Free-State  meet- 
ing of  the  25th,  and  endorsed  the  repudiation  resolutions. 

As  the  Fourth  of  July  approached  it  was  decided  to  cele- 
brate that  day  in  a  fitting  manner.  The  question  of  fitness 
was  not  easily  settled.  Those  who  wanted  a  celebration  to 
glorify  the  Government  and  Union  desired  Colonel  Lane  for 
orator,  but  such  as  wanted  a  celebration  to  correspond  to  the 
condition  of  the  people  as  subjects  of  Missouri  desired  Dr. 
Robinson.  As  this  was  the  more  numerous  class  at  Law- 
rence, he  was  selected.  His  speech  was  bitterly  denounced 
by  National  Democrats,  but  warmly  endorsed  by  the  repudi- 
ators.  The  gathering  was  very  large,  some  walking  sixteen 
miles  to  attend  it.  The  Shawnee  and  Delaware  Indians 
were  present  and  participated  in  the  proceedings.  Being  the 
first  Fourth  of  July  celebration  in  Kansas,  and  Kansas  being 
virtually  a  conquered  province,  the  like  of  it  will  never  be  seen 
again.  The  two  organized  military  companies,  armed  with 
Sharp's  rifles,  besides  many  volunteers,  appeared  in  uniform 
and  were  presented  with  a  beautiful  silk  banner  by  the  ladies. 
Mrs.  Gates  made  the  presentation  speech,  closing  with  these 
words :  "  Let  riot  threats  of  tyrants,  foreign  or  domestic,  intim- 
idate you  ;  but  move  firmly  and  fearlessly  in  the  path  of  truth 
and  right  principle,  and  if  you  should  fail  to  accomplish  the 
object  of  your  mission,  you  shall  at  least  have  the  sweet  con- 


FLAG    PRESENTATION.  145 

sciousness  of  having  stood  steadfastly  in  a  good  cause.  Never 
surrender  that  flag  into  the  hands  of  your  enemies,  and  save 
it  from  dishonor  or  perish  in  the  attempt." 

S.  N.  Wood,  on' behalf  of  the  companies,  responded  with 
a  patriotic  speech,  closing  as  follows :  "  And  should  a  san- 
guinary conflict  be  forced  upon  us,  I  know  I  speak  the  -char- 
acter of  every  soldier  who  has  or  may  rally  under  these 
talismanic  stars  and  stripes,  they  will  demean  themselves  like 
men.  This  flag  and  the  sacred  cause  it  represents  will  by 
them  never  be  deserted  or  dishonored.  Surrender  this  flag ! 
No,  never,  while  one  of  our  men  is  able  to  bear  it  above 
the  carnage  of  a  battle-field,  or  falling,  grasp  its  folds  with  his 
hand  for  a  winding  sheet !  " 

The  condition  of  the  people  and  spirit  of  the  occasion  may 
be  learned  by  a  few  extracts  from  the  address : 

' '  This  day,  the  79th  Anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  American  In- 
dependence, finds  us  in  a  new  and  strange  country,  and  surrounded  by 
circumstances  interesting  and  peculiar.  While  the  echoes  of  the  boom- 
ing cannon  are  reverberating  among  our  "native  hills,  and  the  merry 
peals  of  the  church-going  bells  are  announcing  to  the  world  the  rejoic- 
ings of  a  great  and  prosperous  people,  that  their  days  of  weakness, 
suffering,  and  thraldom  are  past,  we  are  here  in  a  remote  wilderness, 
to  found  a  new  State,  and  to  plant  anew  the  institutions  of  our  patriotic 
ancestors.  It  is  a  day  to  us  of  peculiar  significance.  While  we  would 
pay  a  tribute  of  respect  to  that  period  which,  in  the  annals  of  this  nation, 
will  ever  be  regarded  as  most  sacred ;  while,  with  one  accord  and  one 
voice,  we  worship  in  the  Temple  of  Liberty,  uncontaminated  by  party 
distinctions  or  sectional  animosities,  and  unite  in  the  endeavor  to  raise 
some  fitting  memento  of  a  nation's  gratitude  for  the  declarations  of  that 
day,  the  most  glorious  in  the  history  of  a  mighty  people,  we  should  also 
gather  lessons  of  instruction  from  the  past  by  which  to  be  guided  in  the 
erection  of  a  new  State  in  the  heart  of  this  great  Republic.  *  *  * 

"  The  Colonies,  both  North  and  South,  made  common  cause  against 
the  indignities  and  outrages  heaped  upon  a  part  of  the  country,  and  united 
in  a  general  convention  of  representatives  from  different  Colonies,  to 
devise  ways  and  means  for  the  common  safety.  The  result  of  their  de- 
liberations was  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  to  the  reading  of 
which  we  have  this  day  listened.  The  truths  of  that  ever-memorable 
document  were  as  old  as  the  Christian  religion,  but  their  adoption  as 
the  rule  of  faith  and  practice  by  a  vigorous  and  growing  nation,  marked 
10 


146  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

an  era  in  the  history  of  the  world  unprecedented.  A  belief  in  the 
equality  of  man  and  the  sacredness  of  life  and  liberty  therein  expressed, 
can  be  cherished  only  by  those  who  believe  '  that  all  the  nations  who 
dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  are  made  of  one  blood.'  The  estab- 
lishment of  these  principles  cost  our  ancestors  a  struggle  with  the 
mother  country  of  seven  years'  duration.  No  sacrifice  was  counted  too 
dear  to  secure  to  the  people  of  these  United  States  the  right  to  govern 
themselves,  to  choose  their  own  rulers,  make  their  own  laws,  and  wor- 
ship God  in  their  own  way.  Peace  at  length  was  proclaimed  through- 
out the  land,  and  close  in  her  footsteps  came  prosperity,  which  has 
continued  with  but  little  interruption  till  the  present  time.  »  *  * 

"  One  lesson  the  history  of  our  Government  should  teach  us  who 
have  chosen  Kansas  for  our  home,  and  that  is  especially  applicable  to 
the  instruction  of  this  day,  viz.  :  the  more  closely  the  principles  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  are  followed  as  the  basis  of  Government, 
and  the  more  universal  they  are  made  in  their  application,  the  more 
prosperous  the  Government  and  people. 

"  As  the  people  of  Kansas  Territory  are  to-day  the  subjects  of  a 
foreign  State,  as  laws  are  now  being  imposed  upon  us  by  the  citizens 
of  Missouri,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  forcing  upon  this  Territory  the 
institution  of  slavery,  I  surely  need  make  no  apology  for  devoting  the 
few  moments  allotted  me  on  this  occasion  to  an  examination  of  the 
effects  of  that  institution  upon  a  State  and  people,  whether  politically, 
morally,  or  socially.  I  ask  you  not  to-day  to  listen  to  arguments  of 
abolitionists,  or  for  abolitionism.  I  wish  not  now  to  wage  war  upon 
slavery  or  slave-holders  in  any  State  of  this  Union,  or  to  interfere  in 
any  respect  with  our  neighbors'  affairs,  but  it  is  for  ourselves,  our 
families,  our  own  institutions  and  our  prosperity — it  is  for  Kansas  I  a>k 
your  attention.  Is  it  politic,  is  it  for  our  moral,  intellectual  or  pecuniary 
advancement  to  submit  to  the  dictation  of  a  foreign  power  in  regard  to 
our  laws  and  institutions?  This  is  the  question  that  deeply  interests  us 
all,  and  for  the  consideration  of  which  this  day  is  nx>>t  appropriate. 
»**»*** 

"  The  foregoing  are  but  a  few  paragraphs  of  the  volumes  that  might 
be  quoted  to  prove  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  the  evils  of  .slavery. 
Liberty,  the  goddess  to  whom  this  day  is  dedicated,  shower^  upon  her 
votaries  peace  and  prosperity,  intelligence  and  enterprise,  morality 
and  religion.  The  inspirer  and  guide  of  Washington  and  the  patriotic 
fathers,  may  she  become  the  presiding  genius  of  our  own  beautiful 
Kansas!  Slavery — the  opposite  ami  antagonist  of  Liberty,  the  ruin  of 
nations,  the  impoverisher  of  States,  the  demoralizer  of  communities,  the 
curse  of  the  world,  and  child  of  hell — may  she  go  to  her  own  place. 
On  this  day  and  this  occasion  we  may  speak  freely,  avsured  that  no 
offense  can  be  given  by  the  strongest  expression  in  favor  of  freedom, 


CONDITION    OF    SETTLERS.  147 

or  in  opposition  to  slavery,  as  no  one  who  is  in  favor  of  the  latter 
can  join  in  the  celebration  of  this  day.  No  person  who  does  not 
'  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights ; 
that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,'  can  con- 
sistently participate  in  the  festivities  of  this  day.  Nay,  should  we  fail 
to  speak  in  utter  detestation  of  slavery,  and  to  hurl  defiance  at  the  mon- 
ster on  this  anniversary  of  freedom's  natal  day,  especially  when  the 
tyrant  has  already  placed  his  foot  upon  our  own  necks,  why,  the  very 
stones  would  cry  out. 

"  Fellow-citizens,  let  us  for  a  moment  inquire  ivho,  and  where,  and 
what  are  we? 

"  Who  are  we?  Are  we  not  free-born?  Were  not  our  mothers,  as 
well  as  our  fathers,  of  Anglo-Saxon  blood?  Was  not  the  right  to  govern 
ourselves,  to  choose  our  own  rulers,  to  make  our  own  laws,  guaranteed 
to  us  by  the  united  voice  of  the  United  States? 

"  Where  are  we?  Are  we  not  in  the  most  beautiful  country  that 
human  eye  ever  beheld?  Is  it  not,  for  surface,  soil,  and  productions, 
worthy  to  be  styled  the  garden  of  the  world  ?  A  wilderness,  yet  already 
budding  and  blossoming  like  the  rose?  A  new  country,  yet  having  the 
appearance  in  its  diversity  of  meadow  and  woodland,  hill  and  dale,  of  a 
land  long  inhabited,  and  most  beautifully  and  tastefully  laid  out  into 
parks  and  groves?  With  a  mild  and  salubrious  climate,  a  dry,  pure 
atmosphere,  must  it  not  soon  become  the  resort  of  the  invalid  from  the 
consumptive  East  and  the  ends  of  the  earth? 

"  Our  situation,  geographically,  is  in  the  centre  of  this  Republic,  at 
the  half-way  station  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
and  the  British  possessions.  The  '  Father  of  Waters  '  extends  to  us 
his  great  right  arm,  and  proffers  the  commerce  of  the  world  and  a 
market  for  all  our  productions ;  and  the  line  of  steam  and  telegraphic 
communication  that  is  soon  to  encircle  the  globe  will,  of  course,  pass 
directly  through  this  Territory,  thus  bringing  to  our  very  doors  the 
commerce  of  China  and  the  Indies. 

"  What  are  we?  Subjects,  slaves  of  Missouri.  We  come  to  the  cele- 
bration of  this  anniversary,  with  our  chains  clanking  about  our  limbs  ; 
we  lift  to  Heaven  our  manacled  arms  in  supplication ;  proscribed,  out- 
lawed, denounced,  we  cannot  so  much  as  speak  the  name  of  Liberty 
except  with  prison  walls  and  halters  looking  us  in  the  face.  We  must 
not  only  see  black  slavery,  the  blight  and  curse  of  any  people,  planted 
in  our  midst,  and  against  our  wishes,  but  we  must  become  slaves  our- 
selves. Hear  our  masters : 

'  '  Our  Legislature  should  make  the  publishing  or  writing  of  aboli- 
tionism an  offense  of  a  high  grade,  both  indictable  and  actionable,  if 
loss  is  sustained.' — Squatter  Sovereign. 


148  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  '  Only  one  Free-soiler  will  get  a  seat  in  the  Legislative  Assembly, 
and  he  will  be  expelled  unless  he  mends  his  manners  very  much.' — 
Squatter  Sovereign. 

"  '  It  is  to  be  admitted  that  they  (the  Missourians)  have  conquered 
Kansas.  Our  advice  is,  let  them  hold  it,  or  die  in  the  attempt.' — Platte 
Argus. 

"  At  a  meeting  held  at  Leavenworth,  our  conquerors  resolved  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  'Resolved,  That  no  man  has  a  right  to  go  into  any  community  and 
disturb  its  peace  and  quiet  by  doing  incendiary  acts  or  circulating  incen- 
diary sentiments.  We  therefore  advise  such  as  are  unwilling  to  submit 
to  the  institutions  of  this  country,  to  leave  for  some  climate  more  con- 
genial to  their  feelings,  as  abolition  sentiments  cannot,  nor  will  not,  be 
tolerated  here ;  and  while  we  do  not  say  what  may  be  the  consequences, 
for  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  community  we  urge  all  entertaining  and 
expressing  such  sentiments  to  leave  immediately,  claiming  the  right  to 
expel  all  such  as  persist  in  such  a  course. 

' '  '  Resolved,  That  in  the  present  state  of  public  excitement,  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  controlling  the  ebullition  of  feeling,  while  material  re- 
mains in  the  country  on  which  to  give  it  vent.  To  the  peculiar  friends 
of  our  Northern  fanatics,  we  say,  this  is  not  your  country.  Go  home 
and  vent  your  treason  where  you  may  find  sympathy. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  institution  of  slavery  is  known  and  recogni/ed 
in  this  Territory,  and  that  we  repel  the  doctrines  that  it  is  a  moral  or 
political  evil;  and  we  hurl  back  with  scorn  upon  its  slanderous  authors 
the  charge  of  inhumanity ;  and  we  warn  all  persons  not  to  come  to  our 
peaceful  firesides  to  slander  us  and  sow  seeds  of  discord  between  the 
master  and  the  servant,  for  much  as  we  may  be  driven,  \ve  cannot  be 
responsible  for  the  consequences. 

"  'Resolved,  That  a  vigilance  committee,  consisting  of  thirty  me- 
shall  now  be  appointed,  who  shall  observe  and  report  all  such  per-»n^ 
as  shall  openly  act  in  violation  of  law  and  order,  and  by  the  expression 
of  abolition  sentiments  produce  disturbance  to  the  quiet  of  the  citizens, 
or  danger  to  their  domestic  relations,  and  all  such  persons  so  offending 
shall  be  notified  and  made  to  leave  the  Territory.' 

"  '  Abolition  editors  in  slave  States  will  not  dare  to  avow  their  opin- 
ions. It  would  be  instant  death  to  them.' — Missouri  Ar^ns. 

"The  Charleston  Courier  (nth  August,  1835)  declared  that  'the 
gallmus  and  the  stake''  awaited  the  abolitionist  who  should  dare  to 
'  appear  in  person  among  us.' 

"  '  The  cry  of  the  whole  South  should  be  death,  instant  death  to  the 
abolitionist,  whenever  he  is  caught.' — Augusta  (Cni.~)  Chronicle. 

"  '  Let  us  declare  through  the  public  journals  of  our  country,  that 
the  question  of  slavery  is  not  and  shall  not  be  open  to  discussion  ;  that 


SOUTHERN    THREATS.  149 

the  system  is  too  deep-rooted  among  us,  and  must  remain  forever ;  that 
the  very  moment  any  private  individual  attempts  to  lecture  us  upon  its 
evils  and  morality,  and  the  necessity  of  putting  means  in  operation  to 
secure  us  from  them,  in  the  same  moment  his  tongue  shall  be  cut  out 
and  cast  upon  the  dunghill.' — Columbia  (S.  C.)  Telescope. 

'  '  The  true-hearted  citizens  of  East  Tennessee  and  property-holders 
ought  to  enter  into  leagues,  and  whip,  black,  and  ride  on  a  rail,  irre- 
spective of  age,  calling,  family,  association,  every  preacher,  citizen,  or 
traveller,  who  dares  to  utter  one  word  in  opposition  to  slavery,  or  who 
is  found  in  possession  of  an  abolition  document.  These  are  our  senti- 
ments, and  we  are  willing  and  ready  to  help  others  to  carry  them  out.' 
— Parson  Bronunlmv. 

"And  who,  or  what  is  an  abolitionist?  Why,  everybody  is  an 
abolitionist,  according  to  their  dictionary,  who  dares  to  have  an  opinion 
of  his  own  upon  the  subject  of  the  rights  of  man  in  any  respect  differing 
from  theirs.  No  distinction  is  made  between  the  man  who  is  opposed 
to  the  establishment  of  slavery  in  Kansas  and  him  who  is  opposed  to 
its  existence  in  the  States  ;  between  the  man  who  would  return  him  who 
had  escaped  to  his  master  and  him  who  would  direct  the  fugitive  to  the 
land  of  liberty.  Said  one  of  the  chivalry,  whose  name  is  suggestive  of 
hemp  factories,  '  Had  I  the  power,  I  would  hang  every  abolitionist  in 
the  country,  and  every  man  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  is  an 
abolitionist.'  This  was  said  with  the  emphasis  and  accompaniments 
peculiar  to  the  individual.  These  gentlemen  and  Christians  '  repel  the 
doctrine  that  it  (slavery)  is  a  moral  or  political  evil,'  and  '  hurl  back 
with  scorn  the  charge  of  inhumanity,'  and  warn  all  persons  of  different 
views  not  to  come  to  Kansas,  for  they  shall  be  '  made  to  leave  the  Ter- 
ritory,' if  they  do.  'Made  to  leave! '  indeed.  Well,  a  '  right  smart  good 
time  of  it,'  may  our  neighbors  have  in  making  all  leave  Kansas  who 
will  not  bow  down  and  worship  the  calves  they  set  up. 

"  Made  to  leave!  Gentlemen,  look  at  that  beautiful  banner,  think 
from  whence  it  came,  and  of  the  motives  which  prompted  its  presenta- 
tion, and  then  think  about  being  MADE  TO  LEAVE  your  country,  for 
no  crime!  One  thing  appears  evident:  if  we  are  made  to  leave,  the 
ladies  will  be  ashamed  to  follow,  and  will  let  us  go  alone. 

"  Persons  may  teach  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is  a  lie; 
that  tyranny  and  oppression  a  thousand-fold  more  severe  than  that 
which  our  ancestors  rose  in  rebellion  against  are  right ;  that  marriage 
is  a  mockery ;  that  the  parent  shall  not  have  possession  of  his  own  child, 
nor  the  husband  his  wife ;  that  education  is  a  crime ;  that  traffic  in 
human  beings,  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men,  is  a  virtue.  All  this  may 
be  taught  with  impunity  in  this  boasted  land  of  ours,  and  those  who 
teach  such  things  must  be  recognized  as  gentlemen  and  Christians  ;  but 
to  teach  that  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that  they  have  an  inalienable 


150  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

right  to  life  and  liberty  ;  that  oppression  is  a  crime,  and  that  education, 
religion,  and  good  morals  are  virtues — this  is  not  to  be  tolerated  for  a 
moment.  Tar  and  feathers,  the  gallows  and  stake,  await  all  persons 
who  dare  express  a  belief  in  such  dangerous  doctrines,  if  we  can  believe 
our  masters.  Masters,  did  I  say?  Heaven  forbid!  Subjects?  slaves? 
Oh,  no!  It  is  all  a  mistake.  What!  the  whiskey-drinking,  profane, 
blasphemous,  degraded,  foul-mouthed,  and  contemptible  rabble  that  in- 
vaded our  Territory  at  the  late  elections  our  masters?  Never!  never! 
I  can  say  to  Death,  be  thou  my  master ;  and  to  the  grave,  be  thou  my 
prison-house  ;  but  acknowledge  such  creatures  my  masters,  never!  No, 
thank  God,  we  are  yet  free,  and  hurl  defiance  at  those  who  would  make 
us  slaves. 

"  '  Look  on  who  will  in  apathy,  and  stifle  they  who  can, 

The  sympathies,  the  hopes,  the  words,  that  make  man  truly  man ; 
Let  those  whose  hearts  are  dungeoned  up  with  interest  or  with  ease, 
Consent  to  hear  with  quiet  pulse  of  loathsome  deeds  like  these! 
We  first  drew  in  New  England's  air,  and  from  her  hardy  breast, 
Sucked  in  the  tyrant-hating  milk,  that  will  not  let  us  rest ; 
And  if  our  words  seem  treason  to  the  dullard  and  the  tame, 
'Tis  but  our  native  dialect, — our  fathers  spake  the  same.' 

"  \Vith  truth  and  justice  on  our  side  we  have  nothing  to  fear,  for — 

' '  Thrice  is  he  armed  who  has  his  quarrel  just, 
And  he  but  naked,  though  locked  up  in  steel, 
Whose  conscience  with  injustice  is  corrupted.' 

"  Whose  conscience  with  injustice  is  corrupted,  if  not  his  who  with- 
holds from  the  laborer  his  due  ;  who  makes  merchandise  of  men,  women, 
and  children  ;  who  sunders  family  ties,  sending  the  husband  perhaps  to 
the  cane-fields  of  Mississippi,  the  wife  to  a  New  Orleans  brothel,  and 
the  children  to  the  rice  swamps  of  Alabama,  never  to  see  each  other 
again,  and  all  to  spend  their  lives  amid  whips  and  chains?  Is  it  not 
4  confirmation  strong  as  holy  writ,'  that  their  conscience  is  corrupted, 
when  such  men  '  repel  the  doctrine'  that  such  proceedings  art1  wrong, 
cither  morally  or  politically?  when  they  'hurl  back  with  scorn'  the 
charge  that  conduct  like  this  can  be  inhuman?  Perhaps  it  is  not  in- 
human, if  they  are  fair  samples  of  humanity,  but  it  is  certainly  unbeust- 
like. 

"  And  who  are  the  cowards  in  this  contest,  if  not  those  who  shun  in- 
vestigation, tremble  at  free  discussion,  or  even  the  expression  of  an 
opinion ;  who  cry  out,  '  Down  with  the  press,  down  with  the  church, 
down  with  every  man  that  disapproves  of  oppression? '  Ami  what  acts 
are  cowardly,  if  it  is  brave  and  manly  for  scores  of  men,  maddened  with 


ISSUE   ACCEPTED.  151 

whiskey,  to  prowl  about  in  the  dark  and  destroy  the  defenseless,  to 
seize  peaceable  and  unarmed  citizens,  to  tar  and  feather  them,  to  throw 
printing  presses  into  the  river,  and  threaten  to  shoot  governors  and 
hang  editors,  and  especially  to  march  upon  a  weak  and  defenseless 
people  by  thousands,  armed  with  deadly  weapons  of  all  kinds  (the 
most  deadly  of  which  is  whiskey),  and  trample  under  their  feet  the 
dearest  rights  of  freemen,  imposing  upon  a  neighboring  Territory 
a  foreign  government  and  laws  not  of  their  choice,  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet?  If  such  acts  are  brave  and  heroic,  what  are  cowardly  and 
villainous? 

"  What  reason  is  given  for  the  cowardly  invasion  of  our  rights  by 
our  neighbors?  No  good  reason  is  or  can  be  given.  They  and  their 
apologists  say  that  if  Kansas  is  allowed  to  be  free,  the  institution  of 
slavery  in  their  own  State  will  be  in  danger ;  that  the  contrast  between 
a  free  and  a  slave  State  will  be  so  great  their  own  citizens  will  become 
abolitionists,  or  the  under-ground  railroad  will  relieve  them  of  their 
slaves.  But  from  the  first  cause  there  is  no  danger  of  alarm,  if  their 
doctrine  is  correct,  that  slavery  is  a  blessing,  and  not  a  moral  or  political 
evil.  If  it  is  the  humane  institution  they  represent,  who  will  want  to 
see  it  abolished?  As  to  the  second  cause,  there  is  no  ground  to  fear, 
provided  the  people  of  Missouri  mind  their  own  affairs  and  let  ours 
alone,  for  it  is  not  true  that  the  settlers  in  Kansas  have  enticed  away 
a  single  negro,  or  attempted  to  do  so.  On  this  point  we  speak  by 
authority,  for  do  not  the  Westport  and  other  Missouri  papers  say  that 
the  general  agency  of  this  line  of  travel  is  under  our  charge,  and  did 
those  papers  ever  tell  an  untruth?  We  say,  then,  officially,  that  up  to 
the  present  time,  not  the  first  rail  has  been  laid  of  this  road  in  Kansas ; 
but  the  workmen  are  in  readiness,  and  will  commence  operations  with  a 
will,  if  our  affairs  are  again  interfered  with  by  foreign  intruders.  If 
the  people  of  Missouri  make  it  necessary,  by  their  unlawful  course,  for 
us  to  establish  freedom  in  that  State  in  order  to  enjoy  the  liberty  of 
governing  ourselves  in  Kansas,  then  let  that  be  the  issue.  If  Kansas 
and  the  whole  North  must  be  enslaved,  or  Missouri  become  free,  then 
let  her  be  made  free.  Aye,  and  if  to  be  free  ourselves,  slavery  must  be 
abolished  in  the  whole  country,  then  let  us  accept  that  issue.  If  black 
slavery  in  a  part  of  the  States  is  incompatible  with  white  freedom  in  any 
State,  then  let  black  slavery  be  banished  from  all.  As  men  espousing 
the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  the  fathers,  we  can  do  nothing  less 
than  accept  these  issues.  Not  that  we  are  unfriendly  to  the  South — far 
from  it.  If  there  be  any  true  friend  of  the  South  in  this  assembly,  to 
him  we  say  that  our  love  of  the  South  is  no  less  than  his.  If,  then, 
such  friend  demand  why  we  are  ready  to  accept  this  issue,  this  is  our 
answer :  Not  that  we  love  the  South  less,  but  we  love  our  country 
more.  '  Had  you  rather  Caesar  were  living,  and  die  all  slaves,  than 


152  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

that  Caesar  were  dead,  to  live  all  freemen  ?  '  '  Who  is  here  so  base  that 
would  be  a  bondman?  If  any  speak,  for  him  have  I  offended.' 

"  Fellow-citizens,  in  conclusion,  it  is  for  us  to  choose  for  ourselves, 
and  for  those  who  shall  come  after  us,  what  institution  shall  bless  or 
curse  our  beautiful  Kansas.  Shall  we  have  freedom  for  all  her  people, 
and  consequent  prosperity,  or  slavery  for  a  part,  with  the  blight  and 
mildew  inseparable  from  it? 

"  Choose  ye  this  day  which  you  will  serve,  slavery  or  freedom,  and 
then  be  true  to  your  choice.  If  slavery  is  best  for  Kansas,  then  choose 
it ;  but  if  liberty,  then  choose  that. 

"  Let  every  man  stand  in  his  own  place,  and  acquit  himself  like  a 
man  who  knows  his  rights,  and  knowing,  dares  maintain  them.  Let 
us  repudiate  all  laws  enacted  by  foreign  legislative  bodies,  or  dictated 
by  Judge  Lynch  over  the  way.  Tyrants  are  tyrants,  and  tyranny  is 
tyranny,  whether  under  the  garb  of  law  or  in  opposition  to  it.  So 
thought  and  so  acted  our  ancestors,  and  so  let  us  think  and  act.  \Ye 
are  not  alone  in  this  contest.  The  entire  nation  is  agitated  upon  the 
question  of  our  rights.  The  spirit  of  '76  is  breathing  upon  some;  the 
handwriting  upon  the  wall  is  being  discerned  by  others,  while  the  re- 
mainder the  gods  are  evidently  preparing  for  destruction. 

"  Every  pulsation  in  Kansas  vibrates  to  the  remotest  artery  of  the 
body  politic,  and  I  seem  to  hear  the  millions  of  freemen  and  the  millions 
of  bondmen  in  our  own  land,  the  patriots  and  philanthropists  of  all  coun- 
tries, the  spirits  of  the  Revolutionary  heroes,  and  the  voice  of  God,  all 
saying  to  the  people  of  Kansas,  '  Do  your  duty.'  " 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    TERRITORIAL    LEGISLATURE. THE    TOPEKA    CONSTI- 
TUTION. 

ON  the  second  day  of  July  the  so-called  Territorial  Legis- 
lature met  at  Pawnee,  where  it  was  called  by  proclamation 
of  the  Governor.  Governor  Reeder  recognized  this  body 
as  the  Legislature  of  Kansas,  and  delivered  an  elaborate 
message  in  due  form.  The  first  action  taken  was  to  purge 
the  body  of  the  men  chosen  at  the  second  election  in  place 
of  such  as  had  been  refused  certificates  by  the  Governor, 
and  to  seat  the  latter  in  their  stead.  These  men  thus  uncere- 
moniously expelled  had  been  importuned  by  the  Free-State 
men,  privately,  and  publicly  by  resolution,  to  repudiate  the 
Legislature  in  advance,  on  the  ground  of  invasion  and  fraud, 
but  they  decided  otherwise.  It  is  true  they  made  a  long  and 
elaborate  protest,  but  it  had  but  little  influence,  as  they  had 
yielded  the  strongest  objection,  namely,  the  illegality  of  the 
body  itself.  M.  F.  Conway,  on  the  other  hand,  who  had  been 
declared  elected  to  the  council  by  throwing  out  one  precinct, 
stood  up  manfully  and  repudiated  the  whole  performance.  He 
had  visited  Robinson's  house  with  Kersey  Coates  and  Deitz- 
ler,  and  the  whole  matter  was  fully  discussed.  While  Conway 
was  at  first  inclined  to  follow  Reeder  in  recognition  of  the 
legality  of  the  Legislature,  he  yielded  to  the  arguments  of 
Coates,  Deitzler,  and  Robinson,  and,  instead  of  presenting  his 
credentials,  sent  his  resignation  to  the  Governor.  As  this  res- 
ignation embodies  the  Free-State  case,  extracts  are  here  given  : 

"  It  is  a  fact  which  has  travelled  the  circuit  of  the  whole  civilized 
world,  that  this  Legislature  has  been  imposed  upon  the  people  of 


154  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Kansas  by  force  of  arms.  Those  who  compose  it,  and  those  whom 
they  represent,  and  for  whom  they  act,  are  alien  enemies,  who  have 
violently  seized  the  legislative  power  of  this  Territory,  and  seek  to  dis- 
guise their  tyranny  under  the  form  of  constitutional  enactments. 
Their  Legislature  is  substantially  a  provincial  council,  instituted  and 
ordained  by  a  daring  and  unscrupulous  league  in  the  State  of  Missouri, 
and  other  parts  of  the  South,  to  govern  a  people  whose  liberties  they 
have  ruthlessly  stricken  down.  This  fact  has  been  placed  beyond 
controversy  by  authentic  details  of  concerted  operations,  looking  to 
this  end,  and  of  overwhelming  violence,  at  the  recent  elections,  unpar- 
alleled in  all  our  political  history.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  would 
be  either  fraudulent  or  pusillanimous  in  me  to  respect  this  as  the 
Legislature  of  Kansas.  I  am  not  willing  to  do  it.  Whatever  the 
timorous  or  the  time-serving  may  suggest  or  advise,  I  shall  do  nothing 
of  the  kind.  Instead  of  recognizing  this  as  the  Legislature  of  Kansas, 
and  participating  in  its  proceedings  as  such,  I  utterly  repudiate  and 
reprobate  it,  as  derogatory  to  the  respectability  of  popular  government, 
and  insulting  to  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  age. 

"  As  an  individual  citizen  of  Kansas,  I  am  furthermore  free  to  say 
to  your  Excellency,  representing,  as  you  do,  the  imperial  authority  of 
the  Federal  Government  in  this  land,  that,  while  I  am  entirely  disposed 
to  pay  all  respect  to  the  lawfully  constituted  authorities,  I  am  yet  not 
willing,  whatever  power  may  command  it,  to  bend  my  neck,  like  a  sat- 
isfied and  gentle  slave,  to  the  yoke  of  foreign  tyrants.  To  do  so, 
would  prove  me  recreant  to  all  the  lessons  of  heroism  or  of  duty  I  ever 
learned.  I  am  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  been  trained  to  some  crude 
notion  of  human  rights — some  such  notions  as  those  for  which,  in  ages 
past,  our  foolish  ancestry  perilled  their  lives  on  Revolutionary  fields. 
And,  however  widespread  may  be  the  disrepute  into  which  the  puerile 
fallacies  have  fallen  in  these  sterling  and  enlightened  times,  I  am  still 
bold  to  withstand  their  violation,  in  my  own  person,  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity of  just  resistance.  Simply  as  a  citizen  and  a  man,  I  shall, 
therefore,  yield  no  submission  to  this  alien  Legislature.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  am  ready  to  set  its  assumed  authority  at  defiance,  and  shall  be 
prompt  to  spurn  and  trample  under  my  feet  its  insolent  enactments 
whenever  they  conflict  with  my  rights  or  inclination. 

"  Very  respectfully  yours, 

"  M.  F.  CONWAY. 

"  Gffv.  A,  //.  Reeder,  Pawnee,  K.   T.,  June  jo,  /c?jj." 

After  seating  the  members  elected  by  the  invasion,  the 
Legislature  adjourned  from  Pawnee,  where  the  Governor 
had  located  the  temporary  capitol,  to  the  Shawnee  Mission, 


REEDER    A    REPUDIATOR. 


J55 


near  the  border  of  Missouri.  Governor  Reeder  vetoed  this 
action,  but  his  veto  was  overridden  with  ease  and  Pawnee 
was  evacuated.  Now  the  Governor  joined  the  repudiators, 
but,  unfortunately,  the  ground  of  his  repudiation  was  much 
less  firm  than  that  occupied  by  the  Free-State  party,  and  he 
never  received  the  credit  for  heroic  action  that  would  have 
been  accorded  had  he  placed  his  repudiation  on  the  invasion 
of  the  polls  on  the  3oth  of  March.  However,  his  course, 
even  at  this  late  day,  gave  great  strength  and  encourage- 
ment to  the  Free-State  cause.  From  that  time  till  the  end 
of  the  conflict  he  was  a  power  second  to  none  in  the  contest. 
He  was  a  lawyer  of  ability,  a  man  of  unimpeachable  integ- 
rity, and  universally  recognized  as  a  statesman  and  patriot. 
No  man  stood  higher  in  Kansas  or  out,  and  the  Free-State 
men  were  proud  of  counting  him  on  their  side. 

S.  D.  Houston,  the  only  Free-State  member  whose  elec- 
tion was  conceded  by  the  Slave-State  party,  resigned  his 
seat,  giving  his  reasons  at  length  in  a  paper  that  was  pub- 
lished and  regarded  as  most  able  and  conclusive,  as  to  the 
illegality  of  this  pretended  Legislature.  As  the  Governor 
refused  to  recognize  the  Legislature,  an  issue  direct  was 
made  that  could  not  be  ignored  at  Washington.  The  Presi- 
dent must  side  either  with  the  Governor  or  with  the  Legis- 
lature ;  and  if  with  the  latter,  the  former  would  lose  his  official 
head.  Already  steps  had  been  taken  to  get  rid  of  him.  The 
whole  pro-slavery  horde  had  demanded  his  removal,  and 
some  charges  or  complaints  had  been  made  of  land  specula- 
tion and  the  like.  The  excitement  over  the  territorial  elec- 
tion had  been  so  widespread  that  the  Administration  did  not 
dare  meet  the  question  fairly  and  give  the  true  reason  for 
Reeder's  removal.  In  the  meantime  two  of  the  judges,  with 
unseemly  haste,  endorsed  the  validity  of  this  Legislature  and 
the  laws  it  might  enact,  foreshadowing  the  course  of  the  Ad- 
ministration at  Washington.  The  Legislature,  although  ig- 
nored by  the  Governor,  whose  prerogative  it  was  to  sign 
their  enactments,  proceeded  to  business,  and  in  sixty  days 


156  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

turned  out  a  mass  of  statutes  equal  in  volume,  and  almost 
identical  in  substance,  with  the  statutes  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, providing  that  wherever  the  word  "  State  "  appeared  in 
any  law  the  word  "  Territory  "  should  be  substituted  or  un- 
derstood. At  length,  after  various  rumors,  official  informa- 
tion was  received  by  the  Legislature,  August  16,  1855,  that 
Governor  Reeder  was  removed. 

This  removal,  under  the  circumstances,  reacted  against  the 
Slave-State  party  with  scarcely  less  effect  than  did  the  inva- 
sion of  the  3oth  of  March.  Governor  Reeder's  answer  to 
the  charge  of  illegal  speculation  in  land,  a  most  tart  and 
pungent  reply  to  Commissioner  Mannypenny,  was  published, 
and  the  most  conservative  Democratic  papers  denounced  the 
removal  and  severely  censured  the  Administration.  Thus  far 
every  step  taken  by  the  Slave-State  party  had  helped  the  Free- 
State  cause  in  accordance  with  the  unwritten  and  universal  law 
of  retribution.  The  Slave-State  men  having  the  Government 
in  their  possession,  were  arrogant,  defiant,  over-bearing,  and 
despised  their  antagonists.  The  Free-State  men  were  osten- 
sibly beaten,  overwhelmed,  and  crushed,  yet  really  self-reliant, 
hopeful,  and  exultant  over  the  blunders  of  their  opponents. 

When  the  character  of  the  enactments  of  this  Legislature 
became  known,  another  revulsion  occurred  most  beneficial 
to  the  Free-State  cause.  Not  only  was  the  worse  than  Dra- 
conian code  enacted  against  Free-State  men,  but  they  were 
virtually  disfranchised.  Instead  of  leaving  the  choice  of 
county  officers  to  the  voters,  the  Legislature  itself  appointed 
them  for  a  term  of  years,  and  gave  them  full  control  of  all 
future  elections,  besides  requiring  a  test  oath  of  &  challenged 
voter.  Many  of  the  enactments  were  simply  infamous,  as 
some  selected  specimens  will  show  : 

"  SECTION  I.  If  any  person  shall  entice,  decoy,  or  carry  away  out  of 
this  Territory,  any  slave  belonging 'to  another,  with  intent  to  deprive 
the  owner  thereof  of  the  services  of  such  slave,  or  with  intent  to  effect 
or  procure  the  freedom  of  such  slave,  he  shall  he  adjudged  guilty  of 
grand  larceny,  and  on  conviction  thereof,  shall  suffer  death. 

"  SEC.  2.   If  any  person  shall  aid  or  assist  in  enticing,  decoying  or 


TYRANNICAL  ENACTMENTS.  157 

persuading,  or  carrying  away  or  sending  out  of  this  Territory,  any 
slave  belonging  to  another,  with  intent  to  procure  or  effect  the  freedom 
of  such  slave,  or  with  intent  to  deprive  the  owner  thereof  of  the  services 
of  such  slave,  he  shall  be  adjudged  guilty  of  grand  larceny,  and  on 
conviction  thereof,  suffer  death. 

"  SEC.  3.  If  any  person  shall  entice,  decoy,  or  carry  away  out  of  any 
State  or  other  Territory  of  the  United  States,  any  slave  belonging  to 
another,  with  intent  to  procure  or  effect  the  freedom  of  such  slave,  or 
deprive  the  owner  thereof  of  the  services  of  such  slave,  and  shall  bring 
such  slave  into  this  Territory,  he  shall  be  adjudged  guilty  of  grand  lar- 
ceny, in  the  same  manner  as  if  such  slave  had  been  enticed,  decoyed,  or 
carried  away  out  of  this  Territory,  and  in  such  case  the  larceny  may  be 
charged  to  have  been  committed  in  any  county  of  this  Territory,  into  or 
through  which  such  slave  shall  have  been  brought  by  such  person,  and 
on  conviction  thereof,  the  person  offending  shall  suffer  death. 

"  SEC.  II.  If  any  person  print,  write,  publish  or  circulate,  or  cause 
to  be  brought  into,  printed,  written,  published  or  circulated,  or  shall 
knowingly  aid  or  assist  in  bringing  into,  printing,  publishing  or  circu- 
lating within  this  Territory,  any  book,  magazine,  handbill  or  circular, 
containing  any  statements,  arguments,  opinions,  sentiments,  doctrine, 
advice  or  innuendo,  calculated  to  promote  a  disorderly,  dangerous,  or 
rebellious  disaffection  among  the  slaves  in  this  Territory,  or  to  induce 
such  slaves  to  escape  from  the  service  of  their  masters,  or  to  resist  their 
authority,  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  felony,  and  be  punished  by  imprison- 
ment and  hard  labor  for  a  term  not  less  than  five  years. 

"  SEC.  12.  If  any  free  person,  by  speaking  or  by  writing,  assert  or 
maintain  that  persons  have  not  the  right  to  hold  slaves  in  this  Territory, 
or  shall  introduce  into  this  Territory,  print,  publish,  write,  circulate, 
or  cause  to  be  introduced  into  this  Territory,  written,  printed,  published 
or  circulated  in  this  Territory,  any  book,  paper,  magazine,  pamphlet  or 
circular,  containing  any  denial  of  the  right  of  persons  to  hold  slaves  in 
this  Territory,  such  person  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  felony,  and  pun- 
ished by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  for  a  term  of  not  less  than  two 
years." 

The  organic  act  professed  to  leave  the  slavery  question 
open  for  discussion  and  decision  by  the  people,  but  this 
Legislature  had  closed  the  case  and  rendered  the  verdict, 
and  proposed  to  send  to  the  penitentiary  every  man  who 
dared  to  ask  for  a  hearing.  This  legislation,  as  soon  as 
generally  known,  revived  the  interest  in  Kansas  affairs  in  the 
North  and  East,  where  it  had  begun  to  flag.  On  account 


158  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

of  the  cholera,  the  political  disturbances,  the  pretended  elec- 
tion of  a  Slave-State  Legislature,  and  for  other  reasons,  the 
emigration  had  subsided  during  the  summer,  not  only  from 
the  North,  but  from  the  South.  While  the  question  was  un- 
decided, men  from  the  South  did  not  care  to  remove  where 
their  slaves  might  be  unsafe,  and  it  required  great  courage 
on  the  part  of  men  from  the  North  to  remove  to  a  Territory 
where  slavery  so  far  had  been  triumphant.  The  St.  Louis 
Intelligencer,  as  given  in  the  Free  State  of  October  10,  1855, 
says: 

"  Our  news  from  western  Missouri  is  of  an  ominous  and  most  dis- 
couraging character.  That  region  is  suffering  from  mildew  and  blight. 
Its  glory  dimmed,  its  spirits  abated,  and  its  hope  fading. 

"  The  emigration  to  Kansas  is  almost  entirely  checked.  Emigrants 
from  the  Northern  and  free  States  have  ceased  to  go  to  Kansas,  because 
they  can  find  as  good  land  elsewhere  not  cursed  by  mob  law,  nor  ruled 
by  non-resident  bullies.  Emigrants  from  the  Southern  States  do  not 
go  to  Kansas,  because  they  will  not  put  their  slave  property  in  peril, 
by  taking  it  into  a  Territory  where  there  is  a  free-soil  element,  threaten- 
ing the  security  of  slaves. 

"  Any  man  of  sense  might  have  foreseen  this  result.  Alabama  and 
Georgia  may  hold  public  meetings,  and  resolve  to  sustain  the  slave- 
holders in  Missouri  in  making  Kansas  a  slave  State.  But  their  resolu- 
tions comprise  all  their  aid,  which  is  not  '  material '  enough  for  the 
crisis.  When  slave-holders  of  Alabama  and  Georgia  emigrate,  they 
go  to  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and  Texas.  They  do  not  come  with  their 
slaves  to  Missouri  or  Kansas.  Call  they  that,  backing  their  friends? 

"  Thus  the  matter  stands :  The  Northern  emigrants  shun  Missouri 
and  Kansas  as  plague  spots  of  the  nation.  The  Southern  emigrants 
shun  Missouri  and  Kansas,  because  here  is  the  battle-ground  between 
salvery  and  free-soil. 

"  The  result  is,  Kansas,  the  fairest  land  under  the  sun,  is  neglected 
and  idle ;  occupied  by  a  few  honest  and  earnest  but  disheartened 
pioneers,  and  lorded  over  by  a  dozen  or  two  feudal  tyrants  of  Missouri, 
who  curse  by  their  presence  the  land  they  have  desolated. 

******* 

"  The  most  aggravating  stories  of  insults  and  outrages  committed  by 
Missourians  on  the  persons  of  emigrants  from  the  Old  World,  or  from 
the  free  States,  who  are  found  ascending  the  Missouri  River,  are  cir- 
culated in  the  free  States ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  the  hatred 
thus  generated  toward  our  whole  State  in  the  northern  half  of  the  Union. 


SOUTHERN    TESTIMONY.  159 

"  Between  these  fires  Missouri  is  leading  on  her  languid  existence. 
St.  Louis  is  retarded  in  a  most  woeful  way.  Our  railroads  creep  at 
a  snail's  pace.  We  build  ten  miles  while  other  Western  States  build 
one  hundred.  In  every  department  of  life  we  feel  the  paralysis.  In- 
stead of  bounding  forward,  buoyant,  strong,  and  rejoicing,  we  sit  with 
dull  eyes  and  heavy  spirits,  and  listen  to  the  tick  of  the  death  watch. 

"  These  are  the  bitter  fruits  of  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise— a  base  and  wrongful  deed — that  will  bring  a  hell  of  bitter 
self-reproaches  to  its  authors.  Missouri  did  not  demand  that  repeal. 
The  South  never  asked  it.  Atchison  solicited  it,  and  in  a  moment  of 
political  insanity  the  South  consented  to  the  wrong  and  made  the  wrong 
her  own.  This  was  the  suicide  of  slavery. 

******* 

"Atchison  and  Stringfellow,  with  their  Missouri  followers,  over- 
whelmed the  settlers  in  Kansas,  browbeat  and  bullied  them,  and  took 
the  Government  from  their  hands.  Missouri  voters  elect  the  present 
body  of  men  who  insult  public  intelligence  and  popular  rights  by  styling 
themselves  '  the  Legislature  of  Kansas.'  This  body  of  men  are  helping 
themselves  to  fat  speculations  by  locating  '  the  seat  of  Government,' 
and  getting  town  lots  for  their  votes.  They  are  passing  laws  disfran- 
chising all  citizens  of  Kansas  who  do  not  believe  negro  slavery  to  be 
a  Christian  institution  and  a  national  blessing.  They  are  proposing  to 
punish  with  imprisonment  the  utterance  of  views  inconsistent  with 
their  own,  and  they  are  trying  to  perpetuate  their  preposterous  and 
infernal  tyranny  by  appointing  for  a  term  of  years  creatures  of  their 
own,  as  commissioners  in  every  county,  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  and 
see  that  the  laws  they  are  passing  are  faithfully  executed.  Has  this 
age  anything  to  compare  with  these  acts  in  audacity? 

******* 

"  It  has  been  a  common  opinion  with  thoughtless  persons  and  thick- 
headed bullies  of  the  West,  that  the  Northern  and  Eastern  men  will 
not  fight.  Never  was  a  greater  mistake.  The  sons  of  New  England 
and  of  the  Middle  States  do  not  like  to  fight.  They  would  rather 
work,  plough,  build  towns,  railroads,  make  money  and  raise  families, 
than  fight.  But  fight  they  will,  if  need  be.  Remember,  the  sons  of 
New  England  shed  the  first  blood  in  the  American  Revolution ;  and 
they  were  last  to  furl  their  flags  in  that  terrible  struggle.  They  have 
never  disgraced  their  community  by  cowardice,  and  they  will  not. 
They  are  Americans,  with  spirit,  courage,  endurance,  and  deep  love 
of  liberty  to  animate  them.  The  Free-State  men  in  Kansas  will  fight 
before  they  will  be  disfranchised  and  trampled  on.  Mark  the  word. 

"  Here  comes,  then,  the  suicide  of  slavery.  The  outrages  com- 
mitted 'by  Atchison  and  his  followers  in  subjugating  Kansas  to  non- 


l6o  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

resident  rule,  will  bring  on  a  collision,  first  in  Congress  and  then  in 
Kansas ;  and  who  shall  tell  the  end? 

"  Slavery  will  never  sustain  itself  in  a  border  State  by  the  sword.  It 
may  conquer  in  some  respects,  but  it  can  never  '  conquer  a  peace.' 
Never!  never!  Once  light  the  fires  of  internecine  war  in  defense  of 
slavery,  and  it  will  perish  while  you  defend  it.  Slave-holders  will  not 
stay  to  meet  the  fight.  Property  is  timid,  and  the  slaves  will  be  sent 
to  Texas  to  be  in  a  '  safe  place '  while  the  fight  lasts  ;  and  as  soon  as  the 
slaves  are  gone  it  will  be  found  that  .Missouri  has  nothing  to  fight 
about,  and  the  fight  will  end  '  before  it  begins!  ' 

"  Thus  the  slavery  propagandists  who  repealed  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise to  make  Kansas  a  slave  State  will  make  Missouri  free;  and 
in  endeavoring  to  expel  abolition  from  Kansas,  they  will  fill  both 
Kansas  and  Missouri  with  an  entire  free  white  population,  worth  more 
to  the  two  States  than  all  the  negroes  in  America. 

"  Is  not  the  Kansas  outrage  the  suicide  of  slavery?  Have  not  the 
people  of  Missouri,  interested  in  the  preservation  of  slavery  in  the 
State,  brought  themselves  into  a  desperate  predicament  by  following 
the  insane  counsels  of  Atchison  and  Stringfellow?  " 

So  general  was  the  condemnation  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Slave-State  party  and  of  the  Administration,  that  the  indig- 
nation of  the  North  was  again  aroused  and  emigration  set  in 
with  renewed  vigor. 

In  some  respects  the  season  of  1855  was  the  most  dis- 
heartening of  any  in  the  history  of  the  struggle.  On  the 
surface  all  was  dark  for  freedom.  The  government,  both 
local  and  national,  was  in  possession  of  the  enemy,  and  how 
it  could  be  secured  by  the  bona  fide  settlers  was  unknown. 
While  there  was  no  thought  on  the  part  of  the  leading  Free- 
State  men  of  abandoning  the  field,  it  was  impossible  to  dem- 
onstrate to  the  isolated  settlers  an  immediate  way  out.  The 
situation,  as  viewed  by  one  person,  may  be  seen  by  a  letter 
quoted  by  Professor  Spring  in  his  "  Kansas,"  page  61.  He 
says: 

"  November  1st,  1855,  Dr.  Robinson  wrote  A.  A.  Lawrence, 
reviewing  somewhat  in  detail  the  progress  of  events  up  to  that  time. 
'  \Ye  must  l>c  a-,  independent  and  self-reliant  and  confident,'  he  said, 
'  as  the  Missourians  are,  and  never,  in  any  instance,  be  cowed  into 
silence  or  subserviency  to  their  dictation.  This  course  on  the  part  of 


SEASON    OF    1855.  l6l 

prominent  Free-State  men  is  absolutely  necessary  to  inspire  the  masses 
with  confidence,  and  keep  them  from  going  over  to  the  enemy.  *  *  * 
I  have  been  censured  for  the  defiant  tone  of  my  Fourth  of  July  speech, 
but  I  was  fully  convinced  that  such  a  course  was  demanded.  The 
Legislature  was  about  sitting,  and  Free-State  men  were  about  despairing. 
*  A  few  of  us  dared  to  take  a  position  in  defiance  of  the  Legis- 
lature, and  meet  the  consequences.  We  were  convinced  that  our  success 
depended  upon  this  measure,  and  the  demonstration  of  the  Fourth  was 
to  set  the  ball  in  motion  in  connection  with  Conway's  letter  to  Governor 
Reeder,  resigning  his  seat  and  repudiating  the  Legislature.  For  a  while 
we  had  to  contend  with  opposition  from  the  faint-hearted,  but  by  per- 
severing in  our  course,  by  introducing  resolutions  into  conventions  and 
canvassing  the  Territory,  repudiation  became  universal  with  Free-State 
men.  *  *  *  We  conceived  it  important  to  disown  the  Legislature, 
if  at  all,  before  we  knew  the  character  of  its  laws,  believing  they  would 
be  such  as  to  crush  us  out  if  recognized  as  valid,  and  believing  we 
should  stand  on  stronger  ground  if  we  came  out  in  advance.  *  *  * 
The  first  of  July  forms  an  important  epoch  in  our  history.  It  was 
about  that  time  that  open  defiance  was  shown  our  enemies.  *  *  * 
Pro-slavery  bullies  were  daily  in  the  streets,  and  insulted  all  Free- 
State  men  who  they  supposed  would  make  no  resistance.  This  drove 
our  people  into  secret  organization  of  self-defense,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  they  were  glad  to  cry  for  quarter.  A  Free-State  Missourian,  a 
regular  California  bully,  came  among  us  and  took  them  in  their  own 
way,  and  frightened  every  pro-slavery  man  from  the  field.  His  name 
is  David  Evans ;  and  if  I  had  a  Sharp's  rifle  at  my  disposal,  I  should 
make  him  a  present  of  it.  *  *  *  To  divide  into  parties  before  our 
admission  into  the  Union  would  be  ruinous,  and  give  our  enemies  the 
advantage." 

The  effect  of  the  invasion  and  legislation  upon  the  country 
may  be  seen  from  the  following  extracts  from  leading  jour- 
nals of  that  time : 

"THE  BLACK  LAW  IN  KANSAS. 

"  In  another  column  will  be  found  a  transcript  of  a  law  recently 
passed  by  the  Lower  House  of  the  Kansas  Legislature,  in  regard  to  the 
'  better  protection  of  slave  property.'  We  invite  the  attention  of  Mis- 
sourians  especially,  and  in  fact  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States, 
to  its  bloody  provisions,  whereby  the  life  of  a  white  man  is  made  of 
less  consequence  and  value  than  the  service  of  a  negro  slave.  Our 
correspondent,  writing  from  Kansas,  speaking  of  its  provisions,  says 
that,  '  in  utter  disregard  of  the  natural  rights  of  free  speech  and  thought, 
11 


162  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

it  is  only  paralleled  by  one  thing  in  all  past  history.'  Many  acts  more 
severe  in  provisions,  and  more  prescriptive  as  regards  opinions,  have 
been  passed,  and  even  the  resolution  not  to  hare  the  law  printed  has 
been  more  than  equalled  in  the  past.  A  Roman  emperor  is  said  to 
have  written  his  edicts  so  fine,  and  hung  them  so  high,  that  people 
could  not  read  them,  and  thereupon  to  have  glutted  his  appetite  for 
blood  to  the  uttermost  upon  the  unconscious  violators.  This,  we  think, 
fully  parallels  the  decision  of  the  Kansas  Legislature  not  to  print  their 
Draconian  code  on  the  subject  of  slave  property:  To  the  twelfth  sec- 
tion, however,  it  is  our  purpose  at  present  to  call  more  especial  atten- 
tion. It  reads  as  follows  : 

'  '  SEC.  12.  If  any  free  person,  by  speaking  or  by  writing,  assert  or 
maintain  that  persons  hare  not  the. right  to  hold  slaves  in  the  Territory, 
or  shallintroduce  into  Kansas,  print,  publish,  write,  circulate,  or  cause 
to  be  introduced  into  the  Territory,  any  book,  paper,  magazine,  pam- 
phlet, or  circular  containing  any  denial  of  the  rights  of  persons  to  hold 
slaves  in  this  Territory,  such  person  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  felony, 
and  punished  by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  for  a  term  not  less  than 
two  years.' 

"  This  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  making  a  difference  of  opinion 
upon  a  constitutional  question  a  penitentiary  offense.  It  establishes  the 
prison  and  the  pillory  as  the  arbiter  of  constitutional  law  in  preference 
to  the  judiciary  of  the  land,  and  makes  the  human  mind  square  its 
convictions  to  the  ideas  of  a  few  accidentally  elected  legislators.  The 
'  procrustean  bed '  has  been  a  myth  heretofore ;  it  promises  soon  to  be 
a  shamble  and  a  slaughter-house  in  reality.  Men  arc  no  longer  to  be 
permitted  in  the  new  Territory  to  express  abstract  opinions  upon  moral 
questions  without  suffering  the  ignominious  penalties  of  a  State  peni- 
tentiary, and  this  is  what  is  called  opening  the  Territories  to  the  people 
of  a  whole  Union,  and  admitting  all  persons  to  the  enjoyment  of  its 
fair  lands.  Squatter  sovereignty  was  much  lauded  by  (leneral  ( 'a^s 
and  Mr.  Douglas  in  the  outset,  and  yet,  under  this  phase  of  it.  both 
Mr.  Douglas  and  Cass  would  be  sent  to  the  State  prison  if  they  dared 
to  utter  in  Kansas  Territory  what  they  have  repeatedly  said  in  glowing 
language  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

"  In  regard  to  this  law,  we  have  but  few  words  to  say,  and  they  may 
be  said  very  briefly.  We  are  in  favor  of  the  protection  of  slave  prop- 
erty and  the  rights  of  slave-holders,  where  slavery  exists,  by  all  laws 
and  statutes  that  can  be  enforced,  and  that  human  intelligence  does  not 
revolt  at.  But  this  is  none  such.  It  could  not  be  enforced,  as  was 
well  said  in  the  debate  on  its  passage,  even  in  Smith  «'arolina,  much 
less  in  Kansas.  It  is  foolish  in  operation,  and  will  prove  reactionary. 
Massachusetts  assuredly  destroyed  the  Know  Nothing  party  in  the 
United  States  by  the  ultra  course  of  her  Legislature — by  ignoring  the 


PUBLIC    SENTIMENT.  163 

Fugitve  Slave  Law — and  by  enacting  the  Personal  Liberty  bill.  The 
result,  too,  will  prove  that  the  Kansas  Legislature  has  done  more  to 
destroy  the  prospect  of  making  that  Territory  a  slave  State  by  its  ill- 
tempered,  senseless,  school-boy  legislation,  and  by  the  enactments  of 
the  present  '  Black  Laws,'  than  could  have  been  effected  by  all  the 
cohorts  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society,  or  by  all  the  zeal  of  Northern 
fanatical  divines." — Missouri  Democrat. 


"  THE  GATHERING  STORM. 

"  The  clouds  now  rising  upon  the  Western  horizon  are  dark  and 
portentous.  Almost  every  mail  from  Kansas  brings  intelligence  of 
the  approaching  struggle  between  slavery  and  the  Constitution — a 
struggle  which  may  be  decided  in  blood.  It  would  be  useless  to  shut 
our  eyes  to  the  signs  which  seem  to  indicate  an  appeal  to  arms  at  no 
distant  day.  The  crisis  may  be  arrested,  but  only  by  exercise  of  a 
wisdom,  moderation,  and  firmness  by  the  Administration,  which  cannot 
reasonably  be  expected.  The  high-handed,  unconstitutional,  and  ag- 
gressive acts  already  performed  or  proposed  in  the  ruffian  Legislature 
of  Kansas  conclusively  show  that  despotism  intends  to  wage  uncom- 
promising war  upon  the  Constitution.  Read  the  account  in  our  paper 
to-day  of  the  measures  which  have  been  introduced  or  proposed.  The 
intended  enactments  of  the  mob  Legislature  of  Kansas,  we  venture  to 
say,  can  never  be  enforced.  They  are  unwarranted  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  and  therefore  are  not  obligatory.  Where  does 
the  Legislature  of  Kansas  obtain  the  constitutional  power  to  pass  a  law 
requiring  a  citizen  emigrating  from  any  State  into  that  Territory  to  take 
an  oath  of  allegiance  to  support  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
those  which  may  be  enacted  by  their  own  irresponsible  body?  Whence 
do  they  obtain  the  power  to  make  the  oath  of  allegiance  a  qualification 
for  the  rights  of  suffrage?  What  clause  of  the  Constitution  allows  the 
authorities  of  Kansas  to  use  the  jails  of  Missouri  for  the  punishment  of 
offenders?  Oh,  the  beauties  of  squatter  sovereignty!  Every  day 
reveals  more  clearly  the  supreme  ridiculousness  of  the  miserable  farce. 
There  seems  to  be  but  one  course  to  be  pursued  to  prevent  a  civil  war. 
The  organization  of  the  Territory  should  be  begun  at  once,  and  the 
present  miscalled  Legislature  to  enact  laws  for  Kansas  must  be  chosen 
by  tbe  people  of  the  Territory,  not  by  an  invading  army  from  Missouri! 
This  is  the  only  course  which  will  prevent  collisions  which  may  end  in 
blood.  The  people  of  that  Territory  never  will  bow  to  the  unconstitu- 
tional edicts  of  this  mob-elected  Legislature ;  they  never  will  recognize 
it  as  a  legislative  body ;  and  they  will  be  acting  right  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  of  the  country.  Unless  the  general  Government  exercises 
authority  in  the  matter  to  sustain  the  settlers  in  the  assertion  of  their 


164  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

just  rights,  a  few  more  weeks  may  see  civil  war  raging  in  all  its  horrors 
upon  the  soil  of  Kansas." — Boston  Journal. 

"  From  this  time  it  will  be  seen  that  the  bill  whereby  the  Kansas 
solons  enacted  that  all  officers  in  the  Territory,  for  the  term  of  six 
years  ensuing,  should  be  filled  by  the  present  Legislature,  has  become 
a  law,  and  we  are  free  to  say  that  a  more  infamous  invasion  of  the  rights 
of  any  people,  a  more  unwarranted  assumption  of  power  not  delegated, 
was  never  perpetrated  by  any  assembly  that  ever  sat  even  in  revolution- 
ary France.  Not  content  with  legislating  themselves  into  office  in 
violation  of  the  organic  law  of  the  Territory  ;  not  satisfied  with  denying 
to  the  inhabitants  and  citizens  of  Kansas  the  constitutional  rights  of 
free  speech  and  a  free  press ;  but  beyond  and  above  all  this,  they  now 
quietly  inform  the  people  that  they,  the  Legislature,  will  now  undertake 
to  appoint,  of  their  own  free  will  and  accord,  the  sheriffs,  constables, 
attorneys,  tax-assessors,  and  all  local  officers,  not  for  the  coming  year, 
or  until  an  election  can  be  held  by  the  citizens,  but  for  six  years  from 
the  present  time." — Missouri  Dtiiwcrat. 

"  HELLISH. 

"  The  above  is  harsh — almost  an  impious  caption — but  if  the  act  does 
not  deserve  it,  then  we  confess  that  we  do  not  know  how  to  head  an 
article.  If  the  freemen  of  the  North  submit  to  this  without  a  murmur ; 
if  this  does  not  arouse  them  to  action  against  the  slave-  power,  then  they 
deserve  to  be  slaves.  If  this  does  not  stir  the  freemen  of  Kansas  up 
to  civil  war,  then  they  deserve  to  wear  the  chains  that  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Missouri  mob  have  forged  upon  them.  From  the  Federal 
Government  we  can  expect  nothing,  while  the  cut-throat  crew  of  Atchi- 
son  and  Stringfellow  can  command  and  the  Government  obeys  with 
alacrity.  The  present  Administration  is  the  meanest  despotism  that 
ever  disgraced  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  its  governors  and  judges  will 
make  law,  as  far  as  their  sanction  goes,  of  such  damnable  acts  as  this. 
The  life  of  a  free  white  man  is  thus  made  cheaper  than  the  service  of  a 
negro  slave!  And  to  say  that  slavery  is  not  right — to  say  that  men 
have  no  right  to  hold  slaves,  is  made  a  criminal  o(Ten>e,  punishable 
with  two  years'  imprisonment  at  hard  labor! — it  makes  our  blood  boil 
to  read  such  things.  We  shall  rejoice  when  the  first  gun  is  fired  in  civil 
war  in  Kansas.  Outraged,  robbed,  insulted,  condemned  to  deatU  for 
following  the  dictates  of  humanity;  imprisonment  for  uttering  manly 
words  of  truth,  and  all  to  please  the  slave  power!  Great  God!  Why 
is  language  so  powerless!  Why  cannot  we  find  words  to  express  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  that  throng  our  heart  and  brain  at  such  time  as 
this?  They  pass  the  act,  but  they  refuse  to  publish  it;  they  condemn 
men  to  death  and  imprisonment  for  certain  acts  and  words,  but  relume 


PUBLIC    EXPRESSIONS.  165 

to  make  known  in  a  legal  way  what  those  acts  and  words  are.  The 
act  elicited  some  debate,  but  passed  almost  unanimously." — Galesburg 
(III.)  Democrat. 

"THE  CRISIS  IN  KANSAS. 

"  It  is  madness  to  suppose  that  any  community  of  American  citizens 
will  submit  to  such  tyranny  as  this.  If  the  settlers  in  Kansas  do  not 
resist  the  enforcement  of  such  laws  to  the  last  extremity — if  they  hesi- 
tate an  instant  to  take  up  arms,  if  need  be,  against  the  dastardly  tyrants 
who  seek  thus  to  trample  their  freedom  under  foot,  and  to  spill  the  last 
drop  of  their  blood  rather  than  be  thus  degraded  and  conquered,  they 
are  unworthy  of  their  name  and  descent.  The  provocation  of  our  fore- 
fathers to  Revolution  was  trifling  compared  with  that  which  these 
Kansas  settlers  have  experienced.  And  to  this  issue  the  matter  must 
come,  if  the  pro-slavery  madmen  persist  in  the  measure  by  which  they 
have  thus  far  sought  the  accomplishment  of  their  schemes.  We  are 
confident  the  people  of  Kansas  will  not  submit  to  the  domination  of 
their  invaders.  They  will  resist  the  execution  of  the  pretended  laws. 
They  will  not  permit  their  enforcement  against  a  single  inhabitant,  and 
if  their  execution  be  attempted  by  force,  it  will  be  resisted  by  force,  and 
then  the  issue  will  be  one  of  simple  strength. 

"  Under  such  a  menacing  state  of  affairs,  it  would  seem  natural  to 
invoke  the  interposition  of  the  Federal  Executive.  But  the  Adminis- 
tration at  Washington  seems  to  have  been  as  thoroughly  conquered  by 
the  Missouri  invaders  as  the  people  of  Kansas  themselves.  President 
Pierce  seems  to  be  as  completely  under  the  control  of  Atchison  and 
Stringfellow  as  the  myrmidons  they  marshal  to  the  Kansas  polls.  It  is 
idle,  therefore,  to  hope  for  aid  from  this  quarter.  The  people  of  Kan- 
sas must  rely  upon  themselves  for  the  defense  of  their  liberties  and  the 
protection  of  their  rights.  And  if  they  are  compelled  to  encounter  the 
weight  of  the  Federal  Government  in  their  contest,  they  must  appeal 
from  that  to  the  people.  They  can  trust  to  the  justice  of  their  cause  for 
final  victory." — New  York  Times. 

"  KANSAS. 

"  When  the  affairs  of  Kansas  were  forcibly  interfered  with  by  in- 
truders from  Missouri,  we  could  not,  in  the  face  of  the  evidence  estab- 
lishing the  fact,  deny  its  existence,  or  even  justify  it,  because  it  had 
been  provoked  by  an  almost  as  criminal  interference  upon  the  part  of 
the  abolition  Emigrant  Aid  Company  of  the  East.  We  then  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  acts  of  the  Missourians  would  be  prejudicial  to  the 
South,  placing  it  in  a  false  position,  and  making  it  the  violator  of  laws 
which  it  is  specially  interested  in  upholding  for  its  own  protection. 
The  course  pursued  by  the  Kansas  Legislature  is  already  confirming 


1 66  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

v.  hat  we  then  predicted.  Its  ultra  radicalism  upon  all  subjects  that  call 
into  exercise  its  legislative  functions,  and  the  violence  with  which  it 
proscribes  opinions  not  squaring  with  the  ideas  of  its  leaders,  have 
already  made  it  a  disgrace  to  the  country,  and  thrown  upon  the  cause 
which  it  pretends  to  uphold  an  enormous  degree  of  responsibility.  An 
instance  of  this  is  seen  in  a  bill  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  which  passed 
without  opposition. 

"  Laws  of  this  complexion,  which  undertake  to  punish  as  a  penal 
offense  differences  of  opinion,  can  but  have  one  effect,  and  that  is  to 
provoke  opposition,  to  keep  alive  excitement,  and  ultimately  to  secure 
their  own  repeal  by  the  very  strength  of  the  objection  they  put  in  the 
mouths  of  their  opponents." — Baltimore  American. 

"  The  free-soilers  have  determined  to  appoint  a  government  of  their 
own ;  have  disowned  all  obedience  to  the  territorial  Government 
existing ;  have  determined  to  elect  a  delegate  to  Congress  through  their 
own  organization,  and  leave  it  to  that  abolitionized  body  to  determine 
between  it  and  the  law  of  the  land ;  and,  finally,  have  determined  to 
hold  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  Constitution,  and  pre- 
senting themselves  (a  poor  minority  of  the  settlers  of  Kansas)  for 
admission  into  the  Union  as  a  free-soil  State. 

"  The  plan  is  one  of  those  astute  contrivances  that  could  not  have 
originated  on  the  frontiers.  It  bears  the  marks  of  Seward  on  every 
section  of  it,  and  the  object  is  to  transfer  the  power  of  the  Territories 
over  their  domestic  laws  to  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Washing- 
ton, where  the  revolutionary  doings  of  a  band  of  incendiaries,  it  is 
hoped,  will  be  treated  by  their  brother  fanatics  as  the  'Higher  Law.'" 
— Charleston  (S.  C.)  Alercury. 

"  CONDITION  OF  THINGS  IN   KANSAS. 

"The  enormous  outrages  that  have  been  perpetrated  in  Kansas 
during  the  last  six  or  eight  months,  are  a  disgrace  to  the  country  and 
the  age  in  which  we  live.  Furthermore,  the  excesses  that  have  been 
committed  there  in  violation  of  law,  order,  and  decency,  with  the  pas- 
sive sanction  of  the  Federal  Government,  will  most  assuredly  be  the 
means  of  defeating  the  object  which  the  authors  of  the  bill  had  exclu- 
sively in  view — the  organization  of  Kansas  as  a  slave  State.  Messrs. 
Atchison,  Stringfellow,  and  the  Missouri  borderers  generally,  have 
gone  a  little  too  far  in  their  foray,  and  a  time  of  retribution  is  soon  to 
follow.  We  notice  that  a  reaction  has  already  commenced  ;  however 
perverted  and  misdirected  popular  sentiment  may  become  for  a  season, 
under  the  influence  of  violence,  and  the  guidance  and  example  of  prom- 
inent but  unscrupulous  leaders,  it  is  sure  in  the  end  to  correct  itself. 
The  worst  men,  unless  living  entirely  isolated,  and  beyond  the  soothing 


STATEMENTS  OF  THE  PRESS.  167 

reach  of  civilization  and  association,  cannot  persist  for  any  length  of 
time  in  an  uninterrupted  course  of  violence  and  profligate  disregard  of 
all  moral  and  civil  obligation.  The  .ruffians  who  are  now  committing 
these  lawless  excesses  in  Kansas  must  in  time  become  satiated,  and 
then  mollified ;  and  a  resort  to  the  refuge  of  the  law  will  become  a 
necessity  to  insure  even  an  existence  among  themselves,  for  the  exist- 
ence of  society  is  based  upon  the  supremacy  of  the  laws,  and  upon  no 
other  safe  foundation. 

"  But  in  the  meantime  who  can  estimate  the  mischief,  irreparable  it 
may  be,  that  these  acts  of  lawless  violence  have  already  produced ; 
the  deep-seated  hatred  between  contending  factions  on  the  spot,  the 
sectional  animosities,  the  bitter  jealousies,  the  revilings  and  vitupera- 
tion, criminations  and  recriminations,  all  of  which  are  tending  to  sever 
social  and  fraternal  ties,  and  ultimately,  perhaps,  to  break  asunder  the 
bonds  of  Union! 

"  There  is  a  grave  responsibility  resting  upon  the  authors  of  the 
present  state  of  disorganization  in  Kansas,  and  of  the  prospective  trouble 
which  is  to  ensue  from  this  condition  of  things. 

"  No  one  can  justify,  or  even  extenuate,  the  outrages  and  violation, 
not  merely  of  law,  but  of  those  conventional  observances  which  exist 
in  the  most  rude  and  primitive  societies,  which  have  been  disgracing  a 
Territory  under  United  States  Government  for  the  past  six  months. 
But  this  negative  condemnation  is  not  enough ;  there  should  be  direct 
and  emphatic  denunciation  of  this  condition  of  affairs.  The  class  of 
citizens  who  are  friends  of  law  and  order,  who  deprecate  the  supremacy 
of  mobs  and  lawless  assemblages,  and  who  desire  to  see  the  people 
exercise  freely  and  peaceably  the  rights  and  privileges  to  which  they 
are  entitled,  should  set  their  faces  against  this  domination  of  reckless 
and  irresponsible  power. 

"  We  have  seen,  read,  and  heard  enough  of  rows  and  mobs  to  hold 
them  in  special  abhorrence.  Of  all  domestic  evils,  they  are  the  most 
to  be  deprecated;  they  disorganize  society,  injure  reputation,  private 
and  public  interests.  The  places  where  they  prevail  and  are  tolerated 
are  plague-spots,  which  all  peaceably  disposed  citizens  and  good  men 
should  avoid. 

"The  immediate  consequences  of  the  revolutionary  condition  of 
Kansas  have  been  almost  entirely  to  check  emigration.  The  people  of 
the  free  States  do  not  choose  to  jeopardize  their  lives  in  a  land  cursed 
by  mob  law,  and  ruled  by  reckless  bullies ;  the  people  of  the  slave 
States  are  averse  to  peril  their  title  to  their  slaves  in  a  Territory  where 
the  free-soil  element  so  extensively  prevails,  and  where  there  is  no 
security  of  property.  Another  consequence  of  these  violent  proceed- 
ings, carried  on  under  the  sanction  of  the  law,  is,  that  they  are  having 
the  effect  of  alienating  the  friends  of  the  South  in  the  Northern  States. 


1 68  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

We  could  quote  the  strictures  of  some  of  the  most  moderate  and  con- 
servative journals  in  the  free  States  upon  outrageous  legislation  of  the 
present  hybrid  Legislature  of  Kansas,  which  journals  have  been  uni- 
formly sustaining  the  cause  of  the  Soutli  against  the  formidable  com- 
bination of  party  which  have  arrayed  against  us  and  them.  Some  of 
the  laws  passed  by  the  Kansas  Legislature  are  so  outrageously  pro- 
scriptive  and  violent,  and  so  disgraceful  in  character,  that  the  most 
tolerant  and  forbearing  of  the  Northern  press  cannot  suppress  their 
indignation,  but  are  compelled  to  give  it  utterance." — AVro  Orleans 
Bulletin. 

"THE   BATTLE   GROUND. 

"  We  can  perceive  no  reason  why  we  of  the  North  should  appropriate 
to  ourselves  the  whole  terror  and  dread  of  war.  We  cannot  tell  why 
the  whole  weight  of  its  heaviest  strokes  will  be  for  us ;  albeit  our 
Southern  friends  evidently  so  regard  it.  We  have  more  charcoal  than 
they  have ;  we  have  more  saltpetre ;  we  have  more  brimstone ;  we  have 
more  lead ;  we  have  more  bone  and  blood,  and  nerve  and  muscle. 
Will  they  have  a  trial  by  these?  Are  they  ready  for  it?  Are  they 
eager  for  the  clinch  of  death?  Let  them  beware!  To  insult  and  con- 
tumely long  continued  they  have  added  monstrous  and  unthought-of 
perfidy,  and  now  into  the  edge  of  that  deep,  slow-healing  wound  of  our 
abused  faith,  they  will  drive  the  sting  of  open  and  outrageous  violence. 
There  is  a  time  to  stop.  If  at  length  force  must  end  that  struggle — by 
a  swift  and  terrible  blow  will  it  then  be  ended. 

"  We  hope  not  for  this;  we  shall  do  all  we  can  to  avert  it;  but 
slavery  will  not  get  Kansas  so.  We  are  afraid  that  the  ominous  look 
of  things  is  keeping  away  emigrants  who  ought  to  go  there.  If  it 
were  sure  to  become  a  slave  State  we  would  advise  no  freeman  to  seek 
his  home  there.  No  freeman  could  find  one.  Hut  this  is  not  certain, 
not  in  our  view  probable.  A  struggle  there  will  be,  and  no  man  ought 
to  go  there  who  fears  one.  There  will  be  a  call  for  sacrifice  and  self- 
denial  ;  but  sacrifice  and  self-denial  pay. 

"  The  natural  resources  of  Kansas,  various  anil  ample  as  they  are, 
may  not  be  superior  to  those  of  other  sections  of  the  West — but,  while 
the  great  streams  of  emigration  will  doubtless  take  their  dinviinu 
mainly  to  the  facilities  offered  for  procuring  a  subsistence  and  for  gain- 
ing wealth,  we  yet  hope  that  among  those  now  leaving  us  there  will  be 
found  many  with  whom  the  wealth  of  the  world  is  not  all  its  worth, 
nor  the  ease  of  life  its  end;  many  who  will  not  hold  it  a  small  thing 
that  in  a  most  important  and  critical  time  they  arc  thus  allowed  to  aid 
in  rearing  those  institutions,  civil,  social,  and  religious,  to  whose  benign 
working  themselves  owe  so  much.  Such  men,  and  none  but  such,  are 
needed  in  Kansas.  Far  more  is  to  depend  on  the  thoroughness  of 


STATE    CONSTITUTION.  169 

character  of  the  first  free  settlers,  than  on  number.  The  danger  of 
acquiescence  is  greater  than  the  danger  of  overthrow.  We  say,  then, 
to  whoever  is  about  deciding  in  this  matter — if  you  are  conscious  of  no 
higher  motive  than  love  of  gain,  don't  go  to  Kansas — you  may  grow 
rich  there,  but  you  are  likely  enough  to  wish  to  do  it  by  slave  labor ; 
if  you  desire  only  to  live  easily,  don't  go — sleepy  men  are  not  needed 
there  now ;  if  you  w'ant  courage  and  moral  firmness,  don't  go — proud, 
angry  men  will  look  you  in  the  eyes  there ;  if  you  believe  liberty  to  be 
sweet  only  as  you  have  it,  and  justice  sacred  only  as  it  guards  your 
rights,  don't  go — self-sufficient,  self-seeking  men  sprout  out  of  the 
ground  anywhere :  if  you  have  a  longing  for  office  and  favor,  if  you 
suppose  yourself  to  possess  the  attributes  of  a  postmaster,  don't  go — 
you  may  not  be  good  for  anything  anywhere  else,  but  then  don't  go  to 
Kansas ;  if,  on  the  contrary,  you  can  take  with  you  the  mind  and 
strength  of  a  man,  and  the  generous  heart  and  life  of  a  freeman,  go — 
there  is  no  better  place  in  all  the  world  for  you." — Springfield  (Mass.) 
Republican. 

When  it  became  evident  that  the  Legislature  would  be  en- 
dorsed by  the  territorial  judiciary  and  the  President,  and 
that  there  would  be  no  escape  by  election  for  at  least  two 
years,  it  was  equally  evident  that  some  means  must  be  de- 
vised to  keep  the  settlers  from  abandoning  the  fight.  While 
the  majority  of  the  Free- State  party  were  anti-slavery  from 
conviction,  and  would  stand  out  against  a  slave  State  to  the 
bitter  end,  a  large  minority  were  indifferent  to  the  question 
of  slavery,  and  had  been  driven  to  act  with  the  Free-State 
party  because  of  the  invasion  of  their  own  civil  and  politi- 
cal rights.  Under  these  circumstances  it  was  deemed  expe- 
dient to  agitate  the  question  of  a  State  constitution.  Such 
a  movement  would  serve  to  occupy  the  minds  of  the  people, 
attract  the  attention  of  ambitious  politicians,  become  a  rally- 
ing point  for  all  opposed  to  the  usurpation,  and,  in  case  of 
necessity,  when  all  other  means  of  self-preservation  should 
fail,  be  used  as  a  de  facto  government,  even  though  not  rec- 
ognized by  Congress.  This  step  was  taken  with  caution. 
Influential  Free-State  men  were  consulted,  especially  Reeder, 
Coates,  Deitzler,  and  the  staunch  anti-slavery  men  of  con- 
viction. Lane,  at  that  time,  had  not  cast  his  lot  fully  with 


170  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  Free-State  men,  although  the  failure  of  his  Democratic 
convention  had  disgusted  him  with  that  venture.  It  was 
known  that  he  had  recognized  the  legality  of  the  Legislature, 
and  contemplated  getting  a  divorce  by  its  action.  How- 
ever, at  an  interview  with  several  active  Free-State  men,  he 
said  if  those  present  would  agree  to  support  him  for  one  of 
the  Senators  under  the  constitution,  he  would  enlist  in  the 
movement.  He  was  assured  that  if  his  labors  should  be 
worthy  of  such  a  position  he  should  have  it.  Accordingly,  at 
the  convention  of  the  i4th  of  August,  1855,  this,  among 
other  resolutions,  was  adopted: 

"  5.  That  we  consider  the  attempt  to  establish  a  territorial  form  of 
government  in  this  Territory  as  an  utter  failure ;  and  that  the  people 
of  the  Territory  should,  at  some  convenient  period,  assemble  at  their 
several  places  of  holding  elections  in  the  various  districts  of  the  Terri- 
tory, and  elect  delegates  to  a  convention  to  form  a  State  constitution 
for  the  State  of  Kansas,  with  the  view  to  an  immediate  State  organiza- 
tion, and  application,  at  the  next  session  of  Congress,  for  admission 
into  the  American  Union,  as  one  of  the  States  of  the  American  Con- 
federacy." 

While  Colonel  Lane  opposed  the  resolution  repudiating  the 
Legislature  as  a  body,  he  favored  this  resolution  and  moved 
its  adoption.  General  Pomeroy  thought  the  action  prema- 
ture, as  he  would  prefer  to  know  the  wishes  of  the  new 
Governor  appointed  to  fill  Governor  Reeder's  place.  When 
the  resolutions  were  first  introduced  by  the  committee,  of 
which  Robinson  was  chairman,  several  politicians  opposed 
them,  but  after  adjournment  over  night  they  had  all  received 
new  light,  as  they  said,  and  the  resolutions  were  adopted 
without  opposition.  A  mass  meeting  was  called  on  the 
1 5th,  without  distinction  of  party,  and  recommended  a  con- 
vention to  be  held  at  Topeka,  September  igth,  to  take  this 
matter  of  a  constitutional  convention  into  consideration  and 
to  provide  for  one  if  thought  best. 

Although  several  conventions  had  been  held  at  Lawrence, 
and  resolutions  adopted  without  number,  it  was  concluded 


BIG    SPRINGS    CONVENTION.  171 

to  call  a  general  convention  of  the  Free-State  party  at  Big 
Springs,  September  5,  1855.  The  call  was  made  by  the  con- 
vention of  the  1 4th  of  August,  held  at  Lawrence,  and  the 
notices  were  spread  broadcast  over  the  Territory.  This  con- 
vention was  well  attended,  and  nearly  all  the  leading  Free- 
State  men  were  present  in  consultation,  including  the  Free- 
State  executive  committee.  Judge  G.  W.  Smith  was  made 
president  of  the  convention.  Two  important  reports  were 
made,  one  by  Colonel  Lane,  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  platform,  and  one  by  J.  S.  Emery,  as  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  the  Legislature.  The  latter  report  was  drawn 
by  Governor  Reeder. 

The  report  on  platform  was  substantially  a  repetition  of 
reports  at  previous  conventions  held  at  Lawrence,  except 
with  reference  to  free  negroes  and  abolitionists.  It  took 
strong  ground  against  both,  and  proposed  not  to  interfere 
with  slave  States  or  fugitive  slaves.  The  report  drawn  by 
Governor  Reeder  was  most  emphatic  in  its  denunciation  of 
the  Territorial  Legislature.  Among  the  resolutions  are  the 
following : 

"Resolved,  That  we  owe  no  allegiance  or  obedience  to  the  tyrannical 
enactments  of  this  spurious  Legislature— that  their  laws  have  no  validity 
or  binding  force  upon  the  people  of  Kansas,  and  that  every  freeman 
among  us  is  at  full  liberty,  consistently  with  all  his  obligations  as  a 
citizen  and  a  man,  to  defy  and  resist  them,  if  he  chooses  so  to  do. 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  resist  them  primarily  by  every  peaceable 
and  legal  means  within  our  power,  until  we  can  elect  our  own  Repre- 
sentatives and  sweep  them  from  the  statute  book ;  and  as  the  majority 
of  our  Supreme  Court  have  so  far  forgotten  their  official  duty — have  so 
far  cast  off  the  honor  of  the  lawyer  and  the  dignity  of  the  judge  as  to 
enter  clothed  with  the  judicial  ermine  into  partisan  contest,  and  by  an 
extra-judicial  decision  giving  opinions  in  violation  of  all  propriety, 
have  prejudged  our  case  before  we  could  be  heard,  and  have  pledged 
themselves  to  these  outlaws  in  advance,  to  decide  in  their  favor,  we 
will  therefore  take  measures  to  carry  the  question  of  the  validity  of 
these  laws  to  a  higher  tribunal,  where  judges  are  unpledged  and  dispas- 
sionate— where  the  law  will  be  administered  in  its  purity,  and  where 
we  can  at  least  have  the  hearing  before  the  decision. 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  endure  and  submit  to  these  laws  no  longer 


172  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

than  the  best  interests  of  the  Territory  require,  as  the  less  of  two  evils,  and 
will  resist  them  to  a  bloody  issue  as  soon  as  we  ascertain  that  peaceable 
remedies  shall  fail,  and  forcible  resistance  shall  furnish  any  reasonable 
prospect  of  success ;  and  that  in  the  meantime  we  recommend  to  our 
friends  throughout  the  Territory  the  organization  and  discipline  of  vol- 
unteer companies  and  the  procurement  and  preparation  of  arms. 

"Resolved,  That  we  cannot,  and  will  not,  quietly  submit  to  surrender 
our  great  'American  birthright ' — the  elective  franchise  ;  which,  first  by 
violence,  and  then  by  chicanery,  artifice,  weak  and  wicked  legislation, 
they  have  so  effectually  succeeded  in  depriving  us  of,  and  that  with 
scorn  we  repudiate  the  '  Election  Law '  so-called — and  will  not  meet 
with  them  on  the  day  they  have  appointed  for  the  election — but  will  our- 
selves fix  upon  a  day,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  delegate  to  Con- 
gress." 

At  this  convention  Governor  Reeder  was  nominated  for 
delegate  to  Congress,  to  be  voted  for  on  the  second  Tues- 
day of  October,  instead  of  the  day  fixed  by  the  Legislature. 
He  accepted  the  nomination  and  delivered  a  speech  that  set 
the  convention  wild  with  enthusiasm.  Perhaps  no  conven- 
tion was  ever  held  of  greater  importance,  or  that  so  ce- 
mented the  people  of  all  shades  of  political  views,  except 
pro-slavery.  One  dissenting  voice,  and  one  only,  was  heard, 
and  that  was  by  Charles  Stearns,  the  Garrisonian.  As  he 
was  the  only  representative  of  that  party  in  Kansas,  and 
as  that  party  now  claims  to  have  been  instrumental  in 
saving  Kansas  and  abolishing  slavery,  his  letter  to  the  Free 
State  of  September  24th,  is  given  : 

"  LAWRENCE,  September  13,  1855. 

"  MKSSRS.  EDITORS:  In  your  paper  just  issued,  I  notice  the  follow- 
ing remark  : 

"  'The  platform  is  such  as  every  Free-State  man  can  stand  upon, 
and,  so  far  as  we  have  learned,  gives  eminent  satisfaction  to  all,  except 
those  who  desire  division  in  our  ranks.' 

"  Of  course,  then,  you  will  set  me  down  as  one  who  '  desires  division 
in  our  ranks' — for  rather  than  lie  satisfied  with  such  a  platform,  I 
would  submit  to  martyrdom.  It  fills  me  with  grief  and  astonishment. 
and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  will  render  the  party  adopting  it  a  by-woH 
and  reproach  in  the  mouths  of  the  nation. 

"  All  sterling  anti-slavery  men,  here  and  elsewhere,  cannot  keep  from 


BOLT    OF    A    GARRISONIAN.  173 

spitting  upon  it ;  and  all  pro-slavery  people  must,  in  their  hearts,  per- 
fectly despise  the  base  sycophants  who  originated  and  adopted  it. 

"  If  such  is  the  manliness  of  the  '  Free-State'  party,  commit  me  to 
the  slave-drivers  themselves,  for,  much  as  I  abhor  them,  I  do  not  so 
thoroughly  despise  them  as  I  do  a  party  that  will  '  make  the  welkin 
ring '  about  its  anti-slavery  principles,  and  then  crawl,  in  the  lowest 
dust,  at  the  feet  of  the  slave  power.  I  can  and  do  apologize  for  a  pro- 
slavery  man  who  has  been  educated  under  the  influence  of  slavery,  and 
sincerely  believes  that  slavery  is  right ;  but  for  Northern  men,  who 
know  better,  to  tell  the  South  they  are  their  most  humble  servants,  and 
arc  willing  to  concede  to  them  the  right  to  buy  and  sell  human  beings, 
and  to  pursue  with  blood-hounds  the  panting  fugitive,  is  perfectly 
infernal. 

"  If  this  is  the  platform  the  Free-State  party  are  going  to  occupy, 
God  forbid  that  I  should  ever  stand  upon  its  rotten  planks. 

"I  do  not  wish  to  multiply  words  on  this  occasion,  but  merely  ask, 
as  a  personal  favor,  that  you  will  publish  this  renunciation  of  what  I 
can  no  longer  look  upon  but  as  a  base  pro-slavery  party  fully  equal  in 
depravity  to  either  the  Whig  or  Democratic  parties. 

"  Yours,  for  genuine  anti-slavery, 

"  CHAS.  STEARNS." 

Upon  this  the  editor  comments  as  follows : 

"The  author  of  the  above  communication  is  the  only  man  in  the 
Territory  that  is  so  thoroughly  disgusted  with  the  Free-State  platform. 
It  is  due  the  author,  however,  to  state  that  he  is  a  Garrisonian  aboli- 
tionist of  the  deepest  dye — a  class  of  men  who  imagine  the  Union  con- 
ceived in  sin  and  brought  forth  in  iniquity,  and  therefore  have  no 
participation  in  its  affairs.  It  is  also  due  the  public  to  state  that  the 
platform  was  not  drafted  for  any  such  class  of  men,  but  for  the  Free- 
State  party,  and  we  would  be  just  as  much  surprised  to  find  them  en- 
dorse it  as  we  would  be  if  Stringfellow  and  Atchison  should  endorse  it." 

Henry  C.  Wright,  the  non-resistant  abolitionist,  said  he 
would  not  cast  his  vote  for  a  President  though  he  knew  that 
vote  would  free  all  the  slaves  in  the  country,  simply  because 
the  Government  was  based  upon  force ;  and  so  Mr.  Stearns 
would  not  act  with  the  Free-State  party  because  in  some 
particular  it  did  not  meet  his  views.  He  could  not  stoop  in 
the  least,  even  to  conquer  in  one  of  the  most  important  en- 
counters of  the  age.  Many  of  the  Free-State  men  had  no 


174  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

sympathy  with  the  black  law  or  fugitive  slave  law,  neither 
were  they  afraid  of  abolition  or  abolitionists,  but  it  was  well 
known  that  many  Western  and  Southern  Free-State  men  did 
care  for  these  things,  and  as  these  were  not  the  issue  then 
before  the  people,  they  were  willing  to  accept  the  platform 
without  opposition.  It  would  be  time  enough  to  attend  to 
such  matters  when  the  absorbing  question  of  a  free  State 
should  be  settled.  Eli  Thayer,  as  he  has  often  said,  looked 
upon  the  struggle  in  Kansas  as  the  entering  wedge  in  the 
conflict  for  the  overthrow  of  slavery  in  the  nation.  Free- 
dom once  planted  in  Kansas  would  spread  east  and  south 
in  accordance  with  the  popular  sovereignty  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill,  till  not  a  slave  should  be  found  in  any  State. 
This  was  the  view  of  the  agents  of  the  Aid  Company  and 
many  others  who  came  to  Kansas  from  the  North  and  East. 
If  this  view  should  prove  to  be  right,  it  was  immaterial 
whether  a  resolution  should  be  adopted  in  favor  of  a  black 
law  or  not,  or  against  abolitionists ;  for,  when  the  struck- 
should  be  ended,  there  would  be  no  slavery,  no  fugitive- 
slaves  to  be  returned,  no  prejudice  against  free  colored  men, 
as  all  colored  men  would  be  free  and  abolitionists  would  dis- 
appear when  there  was  no  slavery  to  abolish.  Hence,  the 
most  radical  Free-State  men  cared  for  but  the  one  issue — 
a  free  State.  If  the  emigrants  from  the  West  and  South 
wanted  a  resolution  that  the  moon  was  made  of  cotton  bales, 
or  coils  of  hemp  rope,  and  Charles  Stearns  wanted  one  that 
it  was  made  of  green  cheese  or  Boston  brown  bread,  they 
would  quarrel  with  neither,  so  they  were  right  upon  the  ques- 
tion at  issue.  John  Brown,  when  he  arrived  a  month  later, 
was  also  disgusted  with  the  Free-State  party.  Redpath,  in 
his  "  Life  of  Captain  John  Brown,"  page  103,  says: 

"  The  first  time  I  heard  of  old  Brown  was  in  connection  with  a  cau- 
cus at  the  town  of  Osawatomie.  It  was  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  the 
Territory.  The  politicians  of  the  neighborhood  were  carefully  pruning 
resolutions  so  as  to  suit  every  variety  of  anti-slavery  extensionists  ;  and 
more  especially  that  class  of  persons  whose  opposition  to  slavery  was 


BOLT    OF    JOHN    BROWN.  175 

founded  on  expediency — the  selfishness  of  race,  and  caste,  and  interest ; 
men  who  were  desirous  that  Kansas  should  be  consecrated  to  free  white 
labor  only,  not  to  freedom  for  all  and  above  all.  The  resolution  that 
aroused  the  old  man's  anger  declared  that  Kansas  should  be  a  free 
white  State,  thereby  favoring  the  exclusion  of  negroes  and  mulattoes, 
whether  slave  or  free.  He  rose  to  speak,  and  soon  alarmed  and  dis- 
gusted the  politicians  by  asserting  the  manhood  of  the  negro  race,  and 
expressing  his  earnest  anti-slavery  convictions  with  a  force  and  vehe- 
mence little  likely  to  suit  the  hybrids  then  known  as  Free-State  Demo- 
crats. There  were  a  number  of  emigrants  from  Indiana,  I  was  told, 
whom  his  speech  so  shocked  that  they  went  over  and  remained  in  the 
pro-slavery  party.  This  was  John  Brown's  first  and  last  appearance  in 
a  public  meeting  in  Kansas." 

The  convention  called  at  Topeka  on  the  igth  of  Septem- 
ber met,  decided  to  call  a  constitutional  convention,  and  ar- 
ranged for  the  election  of  members  on  the  gth  of  October  to 
meet  at  Topeka  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  of  the  same  month 
to  frame  a  constitution.  The  committee  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  this  work,  called  the  Territorial  Executive  Commit- 
tee, consisted  of  the  following:  J.  H.  Lane,  chairman;  C. 
K.  Holliday,  M.  J.  Parrott,  P.  C.  Schuyler,  G.  W.  Smith, 
G.  W.  Brown,  and  J.  K.  Goodin,  secretary. 

The  Free-State  Territorial  Executive  Committee,  which 
superintended  the  affairs  of  that  party,  was :  C.  Robinson, 
chairman ;  J.  K.  Goodin,  secretary ;  G.  W.  Smith,  J.  A. 
Wakefield,  L.  Macy,  F.  W.  Giles,  William  Phillips,  C.  A. 
Foster,  J.  P.  Fox,  J.  D.  Stockton,  W.  R.  Vail,  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  W.  A.  Ely,  G.  F.  Warren,  John  Hamilton,  H.  Smith,  L. 
Smith,  M.  F.  Conway,  S.  D.  Houston,  Dr.  L.  R.  Adams, 
Dr.  L.  B.  Palmer,  J.  E.  Gould,  Abelard  Guthrie. 

Thus  both  committees  had  the  same  secretary,  Joel  K. 
Goodin.  Mr.  Goodin  was  perfectly  fitted  for  secretary, 
and  occupied  that  position  on  nearly  all  subsequent  occasions 
of  importance  during  the  entire  conflict.  No  man  had  a 
more  sagacious  -or  a  cooler  mind,  and  his  counsel  was  in- 
valuable. He  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  and  stood 
ready  to  thwart  any  wild  scheme,  as  will  hereafter  appear. 


176  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

The  convention  to  frame  the  constitution  met  as  provided, 
and  the  game  of  personal  politics  opened  at  once.  The  play 
was  serio-comic  from  the  first,  often  verging  upon  the  tragic 
or  ridiculous.  The  only  officer  of  importance  to  be  elected 
was  president  of  the  convention.  To  this  position  Colonel 
Lane,  of  course,  aspired.  As  an  evidence  of  his  resources 
and  political  ingenuity,  he  based  his  claims  to  the  highest 
office  in  the  gift  of  the  members  on  a  damaging  scandal. 
He  asked  for  votes  as  an  endorsement  and  vindication  of 
his  character.  The  Free  State  of  October  2gth  makes  this 
comment : 

"  It  will  be  seen  in  another  column  that  the  constitutional  convention 
has  met  and  elected  its  officers.  They,  of  course,  put  in  the  chair  a 
certain  individual,  in  order  to  counteract  the  effect  of  a  true  report  that 
was  abroad  that  might  injure  him,  and  as  he  declared  that  he  would 
sink  to  hell  rather  than  be  defeated,  we  are  rather  afraid  he  will  '  sink ' 
anyhow,  notwithstanding  his  success." 

The  members  of  the  convention  were  at  once  divided  into 
two  factions,  so  far  as  aspiring  politicians  could  divide  them. 
One  was  called  the  conservative  and  the  other  the  radical 
wing  of  the  party.  The  first  had  headquarters  at  the  Garvey 
House,  and  the  second  at  the  Chase  House.  Slate-making 
was  at  once  inaugurated  at  the  Garvey  House,  while  the 
radicals  at  the  Chase  House  accepted  the  situation  with 
good-nature,  as  they  were  willing  to  forego  all  honors  and 
emoluments  of  office  if  they  could  only  secure  a  free  State. 
That  a  visible  line  might  be  drawn  in  the  convention,  a  reso- 
lution was  introduced  endorsing  squatter  sovereignty  and 
Democracy  generally.  This  was  discussed  each  evening  for 
some  time  with  considerable  display  of  old  campaign  liu-va- 
ture.  Of  course,  no  man  who  opposed  this  resolution  could 
find  a  place  on  the  Garvey  House  slate.  A  small  segment 
of  the  members  were  thrown  completely  outside  of  all  healthy 
political  organization  by  voting  for  negro  suffrage.  Their 
names  were  R.  H.  Crosby,  G.  S.  Hillyer,  Amory  Hunting, 
O.  C.  Brown,  Richard  Knight,  Philip  C.  Schuyler,  and  ('. 


DUEL.  177 

Robinson.  Some  of  these,  also,  as  if  to  make  their  political 
damnation  sure,  voted  to  strike  out  the  word  "  male  "  as  well 
as  "  white  "  from  the  constitution. 

But  Lane  was  not  fully  satisfied  with  his  vindication  by 
being  elected  president  of  the  convention ;  he  must  put  a 
gag  in  every  man's  mouth.  For  this  purpose  a  resort  was 
had  to  "the  code."  One  night,  after  all  had  retired  in  the 
attic  of  the  Chase  House,  G.  P.  Lowry,  ex-private  secretary 
of  Governor  Reeder,  appeared,  said  he  had  a  challenge  from 
Lane  to  fight  a  duel,  and  wanted  Dr.  Robinson  to  act  as  his 
second.  Robinson,  of  course,  was  indignant  that  the  Free- 
State  cause  should  be  tarnished  by  such  transactions,  and 
said  it  must  not  be  permitted.  He  utterly  detested  duelling, 
knew  nothing  of  the  code,  and  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it.  He,  however,  thinking  he  could  shame  Lane  out  of 
the  business,  went  to  the  Garvey  House  attic  to  see  Lane. 
There  he  found  him  trembling  with  fear,  or  shaking  with  the 
ague,  so  as  visibly  to  move  the  cot  on  which  he  lay.  On 
being  reproved  for  bringing  disgrace  upon  the  party,  he  said 
Lowry  had  been  repeating  the  scandal  about  himself  and 
Mrs.  Lindsay,  and  he  had  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  it  at 
once  and  forever.  Notwithstanding  Lane  had  gone  to  Rob- 
inson's house  early  in  the  morning  and  begged  of  him  to  as- 
sist in  preventing  Lindsay  from  shooting  him,  and  though 
Robinson  had  endorsed  a  note  to  effect  a  settlement,  yet 
now  Lane  would  try  to  make  believe  there  was  nothing  to 
the  matter,  and  he  was  bound  to  stop  all  such  talk.  After 
dwelling  upon  the  folly  of  such  a  course,  saying  that  if  he 
should  kill  Lowry  it  would  not  stop  the  scandal  nor  vindi- 
cate him  in  public  estimation,  and  if  Lowry  should  kill  him 
he  would  fare  no  better,  Lane  replied  that  he  could  do  noth- 
ing about  it,  as  Parrott  was  his  second  and  the  whole  mat- 
ter was  in  his  hands.  After  saying  that  he  had  come  to  him 
not  at  the  instance  of  Lowry,  as  he  was  anxious  to  fight, 
Robinson  left  the  attic  of  Lane  and  returned  to  his  own. 

It  was  concluded  to  accept  the  challenge  in  due  form,  and 
12 


178  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Major  Robert  Klotz  was  engaged  to  superintend  the  duel. 
The  fight  was  to  come  off  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  the  challenged  party  had  nothing  more  to  do  but  to 
await  developments.  He  did  not  wait  long  till  a  messenger 
appeared  and  desired  to  change  the  hour  from  eight  o'clock 
to  eleven  o'clock.  This  evidently  was  the  beginning  of  a 
back-down,  as  the  convention  would  be  in  session  at  that 
hour,  and  most  likely  Lane  would  have  some  friend  posted 
to  stop  the  duel.  Lowry,  however,  accepted  the  change  of 
time  and  kept  his  peace.  The  convention  opened  as  usual, 
and  the  planets  retained  their  accustomed  orbits.  About  half 
an  hour  before  the  fatal  moment,  Lane  took  the  floor  on 
some  unimportant  question  and  went  off  in  one  of  his  windy 
harangues.  He  talked  up  to  the  time  set  for  the  duel, 
when  he,  with  great  dignity  and  solemnity,  closed,  took  his 
hat,  and  started  to  leave  for  the  bloody  battle-field.  In- 
stantly Judge  Smith  arose,  in  great  apparent  agitation,  made 
the  announcement  that  he  had  learned  a  hostile  meeting  was 
in  contemplation,  to  which  some  members  of  the  convention 
were  parties,  and  he  desired  "  to  move  the  adoption  of  the 
following  resolution,"  which  had  been  previously  prepared  in 
due  form.  This  resolution  apparently  created  a  great  sensa- 
tion, and  proposed  to  expel  any  member  of  the  convention 
who  would  be  a  party  to  such  meeting,  either  as  principal 
or  second.  Of  course  it  was  unanimously  adopted,  but  the 
duel  was  not  yet  off.  Robinson,  as  he  was  a  member  of  the 
convention,  and  was  disposed  to  conform  to  the  resolution, 
deputized  J.  F.  Legate  to  act  as  second  in  his  stead.  Leu- 
ate  was  in  his  element,  and  demanded  a  fight  or  an  igno- 
minious back-down  and  apology  on  the  part  of  Lane.  It  is 
needless  to  say  the  apology  and  back-down  came  to  the  full 
satisfaction  of  the  challenged  party.  This  was  the  first  and 
last  duel  in  Kansas,  so  far  as  known,  although  Lane  had 
fought  a  similar  duel  in  a  similar  bloodless  manner  when 
a  member  of  Congress,  and  he  had  another  afterwards  with 
Senator  Douglas,  who  charged  him  with  forgery  and  lying 


ADOPTION    OF    CONSTITUTION.  179 

when  he  presented  the  Topeka  constitution  to  the  Senate. 
Lane  always  had  more  or  less  solicitude  about  his  reputation 
for  valor.  To  vindicate  his  record  in  the  Mexican  war  he 
had  written  a  pamphlet,  which  he  brought  with  him  to  Kan- 
sas. No  one  seemed  to  care  about  such  matters  except 
himself,  but  he  evidently  thought  much  ado  about  his  honor 
and  courage  was  necessary  to  secure  the  confidence  of  the 
people. 

Notwithstanding  the  slate-making,  political  harangues  and 
duel,  the  convention  completed  its  labors  in  about  two 
weeks,  and  the  members  departed  to  their  respective  homes. 
Bank  law  and  black  law  provisions  were  attached,  to  be  voted 
upon  separately,  and  all  factions  were  harmonized.  On  the 
whole,  the  convention  was  a  grand  success.  The  constitu- 
tion itself  was  nothing  remarkable,  but  answered  all  purposes 
for  which  it  was  made.  Nothing  could  be  more  satisfactory 
than  the  interest  it  elicited  among  politicians.  The  Topeka 
State  government  in  embryo  had  greater  attractions  for  office- 
hunters  than  a  full-fledged  territorial  government  with  officers 
appointed  at  Washington.  Especially  were  the  conservatives 
held  as  with  hooks  of  steel,  as  they  only  would  be  eligible 
to  office,  the  radicals  having  been  already  politically  buried 
by  common  consent  and  with  their  own  approval.  They 
were  safe  to  oppose  the  bogus  Territorial  Legislature  and-laws 
from  principle,  while  the  conservatives  might  need  some 
other  attraction  than  a  mere  free  State.  Hon.  T.  Dwight 
Thacher,  who  came  to  Kansas  in  1857,  in  his  address  at  the 
Quarter  Centennial  at  Topeka,  said :  "  If  the  question  be 
asked  what  useful  purpose  the  Topeka  constitutional  move- 
ment subserved,  the  obvious  answer  is  that  it  served  as  a 
nucleus,  the  rallying  point,  the  bond  of  union  of  the  Free- 
State  party  during  the  most  trying  and  dangerous  period  of 
our  territorial  history.  Without  it  the  Free-State  forces  must 
have  drifted,  been  demoralized,  and  probably  beaten.  The 
prospects  of  success  were  sufficiently  flattering  to  supplement 
the  Free-State  cause  with  the  personal  ambition  of  a  large 


l8o  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

number  of  able  men  who  would  be  called  to  official  position 
under  it." 

This  constitution  was  to  be  voted  for  or  against  on  De- 
cember 15,  1855,  and,  if  adopted,  State  officers  and  a  Legis- 
lature were  to  be  elected  January  15,  1856. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE    MURDER    OF    DOW. THE    WAKARUSA    WAR. MURDER 

AND    BURIAL    OF    BARBER. 

THE  unanimity  with  which  the  constitutional  movement 
was  endorsed  by  the  Free-State  men  of  all  shades  and  fac- 
tions gave  good  cause  for  alarm  to  the  Slave-State  party. 
"  Hell  hath  no  fury  like  a  woman  scorned,"  and  the  indiffer- 
ence shown  to  the  Territorial  Legislature  and  its  laws  was  the 
most  terrible  punishment  that  could  be  inflicted  upon  the  in- 
vaders. War  would  be  infinitely  preferable  to  such  a  peace. 
Here  were  all  the  men  of  character  and  influence  in  the 
Territory  except  Stringfellow  and  a  corporal's  guard  of  his 
satellites  adhering  to  the  State  movement.  The  Herald  of 
Freedom,  Tribune,  Free  State,  Freeman,  and  all  other  Free- 
State  journals  were  harmonized  and  earnestly  at  work.  Then 
there  were  the  correspondents  of  the  Eastern  press.  The 
battle-field  was  the  nation,  and  no  step  in  advance  could  be 
taken  in  Kansas  that  would  not  be  sustained  in  the  North 
and  East ;  and  there  was  no  way  to  reach  the  people  except 
through  the  papers  read  by  them.  At  this  time,  when  the 
constitution  was  framed  or  soon  after,  a  corps  of  correspond- 
ents was  found  in  Kansas  unexcelled  if  equalled  elsewhere. 
There  was  William  A.  Phillips,  who  must  be  admitted  to 
have  been  the  leader  of  them,  not  only  on  account  of  his 
ability  and  activity,  but  because  of  the  great  influence  and 
power  of  the  paper  for  which  he  wrote,  the  Xew  York  Tri- 
bune. No  paper  at  that  time  had  such  influence  with  the 
masses  of  the  people,  the  industrial  classes,  as  the  Tribune, 


1 82  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

and  no  man  could  speak  with  such  authority  as  Horace 
Greeley.  Equal  in  importance  was  the  Missouri  Democrat, 
published  in  the  enemy's  country.  It  is  doubtful  if  Kansas 
could  have  been  saved  from  the  grasp  of  the  invaders  but  for 
the  hot  shot  poured  into  Atchison,  Stringfellow  and  Company 
by  this  paper.  James  Redpath,  the  fearless,  indomitable 
friend  of  the  oppressed  of  all  colors  and  all  climes,  was  its  cor- 
respondent. Neither  he  nor  Phillips  allowed  any  incident  to 
escape  attention,  and  if  every  outrage  by  the  invaders  and 
their  accomplices  was  not  so  presented  as  to  have  the  great- 
est possible  effect  upon  readers,  it  was  not  for  lack  of  will, 
but  of  ability ;  and  if  any  one  had  more  ability  in  that  line 
than  these  young  correspondents,  he  had  not  appeared  in 
Kansas.  Other  papers,  perhaps  of  less  circulation,  had 
equally  earnest,  able,  and  efficient  correspondents.  There 
was  Hutchinson,  of  the  New  York  Times,  S.  C.  Smith,  S.  F. 
Tappan,  Ladd,  Hinton,  and  Realf,  of  several  New  England 
and  other  papers,  as  well  as  many  occasional  correspondents. 
Besides  correspondents,  educators  went  among  the  people 
in  person  and  preached  the  doctrine  of  salvation  to  Kansas 
from  outrage.  Thayer,  of  course,  was  always  in  the  field, 
and  his  equal  as  the  preacher  of  a  crusade  has  not  been  seen 
:;ince  the  time  of  Peter  the  Hermit.  Reeder,  Pomeroy,  and 
Branscomb  made  raids  in  different  parts  of  the  country  and 
struck  most  effective  blows. 

Another  agency  must  not  be  forgotten.  The  churches 
and  clergy  of  the  North  and  East  enlisted  with  zeal  in  the 
work  of  raising  men  and  means  for  the  cause  of  free  Kansas. 
As  people  would  no  longer  take  stock  in  the  Aid  Company 
as  a  bus.ness  venture,  the  churches  and  people  subscribed 
from  considerations  of  patriotism  or  philanthropy.  Hun- 
dreds of  ministers  were  made  stockholders  by  contributions 
from  their  churches,  and  a  considerable  amount  of  money 
was  t>Ms  raised.  Emigration  revived  in  consequence  of  this 
agitation,  and  means  were  sent  forward.  Four  aid  com- 
panies' steam  mills,  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  horse  power 


MURDER    OF    DOW.  183 

each,  landed  at  Kansas  City,  in  the  month  of  August,  1855. 
In  short,  if  public  sentiment  was  any  criterion,  the  bogus 
territorial  government  was  in  a  most  precarious  condition, 
and  something  must  be  done.  What  should  it  be  ?  If  pos- 
sible, this  carcass  must  be  galvanized  into  life,  and,  also,  if 
possible,  these  hated  and  once  despised,  but  now  feared, 
Free-State  men  must  be  brought  in  conflict  with  Federal 
authority  and  officials.  As  the  Free-State  men  would  do  no 
wrong  nor  break  any  law,  it  was  difficult  to  make  a  case. 
The  most  that  could  be  charged  to  them  was  refusal  to  use 
the  territorial  machine,  and  denunciation  and  repudiation  of 
the  fraud.  Not  only  by  word  of  mouth,  but  in  print  through 
every  Free-State  paper,  the  settlers  in  the  most  emphatic  and 
pointed  terms  defied  and  disowned  the  enactments  of  the  so- 
called  Legislature.  By  the  time  of  the  adjournment  of  the 
constitutional  convention,  in  October,  the  bogus  government 
had  become  a  by-word  and  reproach,  a  stench  in  the  nostrils 
of  almost  all  the  people.  It  was  under  these  circumstances 
that  a  case  was  made  to  order. 

A  pro-slavery  man  named  Coleman  killed  a  Free-State 
man  named  Dow  at  a  place  fifteen  miles  south  of  Lawrence, 
called  Hickory  Point,  on  Wednesday,  November  21,  1855. 
The  pretended  reason  for  the  killing  of  Dow  by  Coleman 
was  a  claim  dispute,  but  the  murder  was  evidently  prear- 
ranged. Dow  went  to  a  blacksmith  shop  to  have  some  work 
done,  where  he  met  some  pro-slavery  men.  One  of  these 
had  a  wordy  quarrel  with  Dow  and  threatened  death  with  a 
musket,  but  did  not  fire.  On  his  way  home  Coleman  ap- 
peared, shot  Dow  with  slugs,  and  left  him  to  die  alone  in 
the  middle  of  the  road. 

This  murder  caused  intense  excitement  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, extending  to  Lawrence.  A  meeting  of  citizens  was 
held  at  the  place  of  the  murder  on  the  26th,  and  resolutions 
adopted  denouncing  the  outrage  in  fitting  terms.  In  the 
night  after  this  meeting,  the  bogus  sheriff,  Jones,  appeared 
with  a  posse  of  fifteen  men  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Branson,  the 


184  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

landlord  of  Dow,  and  in  a  violent  and  insulting  manner  took 
him  away.  The  news  of  this  arrest  spread  rapidly,  and  a 
force  of  about  fifteen  men  gathered  and  intercepted  the 
sheriff  and  prisoner  at  the  house  of  J.  B.  Abbott.  Colonel 
S.  N.  Wood,  one  of  the  rescuing  party,  in  a  letter  to  A. 
Wattles,  dated  August  29,  1857,  thus  describes  the  rescue: 

"  DEAR  SIR:  You  request  me  to  give  you  a  history  of  the  Branson 
rescue.  At  this  late  date  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  give  you  an 
exact  history  of  that  affair,  but  with  pleasure  I  proceed  to  give  you 
some  facts  connected  with  the  rescue. 

"  Charles  Dow  was  from  Ohio,  from  a  Democratic  family,  his  father, 
if  not  himself,  having  voted  for  Franklin  Pierce  for  President.  Dow 
was  murdered  on  Wednesday,  November  21,  1855.  News  of  it  came 
to  Lawrence  late  Thursday  evening.  I  felt  much  excited.  Dow  had 
come  from  an  adjoining  county  in  Ohio,  had  lived  at  my  house  in  Kansas, 
and  was  a  noble  young  man.  Early  Friday  morning,  in  company  with 
S.  C.  Smith,  I  drove  to  Hickory  Point.  We  found  that  Cole-man  and 
others,  charged  with  the  murder  of  our  friend,  had  fled  to  Missouri. 
Dow  had  just  been  buried,  and  a  meeting  agreed  upon  for  Monday,  the 
26th.  With  the  promise  of  attending  said  meeting  we  returned  to 
Lawrence.  Monday,  the  26th,  again  went  to  Hickory  Point.  S.  F. 
Tappan  was  also  present.  Found  a  meeting  already  organized.  S.  N. 
Wood  was  appointed  a  committee  to  question  witnesses.  Some  pro- 
slavery  men  attended  said  meeting.  The  testimony  clearly  indicated 
that  Dow  had  been  murdered,  not  out  of  personal  feelings,  but  on 
account  of  his  principles,  and  that  others  were  to  meet  the  same  fate, 
in  hopes  thus  of  harassing  the  Free-State  men,  and  to  frighten  us  all 
out  of  Kansas.  All  parties  present  deprecated  the  murder.  One  hun- 
dred men  or  more  attended  the  meeting,  and  a  unanimous  determina- 
tion was  manifested  to  stop  such  murders.  A  committee  on  resolution-, 
of  which  S.  N.  Wood  was  chairman,  presented  a  few  resolutions  regret- 
ting the  outrages  and  resolving  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  search  out 
the  guilty  parties  and  bring  them  to  justice.  The  meeting  lasted  until 
almost  sundown.  Much  feeling  was  manifested  against  Colt-man,  and 
a  strong  disposition  exhibited  to  burn  his  house,  which  stood  near. 
Three  or  four  men  broke  clown  the  door,  rushed  in,  emptied  a  straw 
bed  upon  the  floor,  and  fired  it.  S.  C.  Smith,  S.  N.  Wood,  and  others 
rushed  into  the  house,  smothered  the  flames,  clearing  the  house,  and 
amid  the  greatest  excitement,  some  crying,  '  Burn  the  house,'  and  others 
interceding  to  save  property.  S.  N.  Wood  jumped  upon  the  fence  and 
said  murder,  pillage,  and  arson  were  the  peculiar  avocations  of  our  ene- 
mies, that  houses  were  too  scarce  to  be  burned,  and  that  this  meeting 


RESCUE    OF    BRANSON.  185 

must  not  be  disgraced  in  this  way.  Wood  moved  as  the  sense  of  the 
meeting  that  the  house  be  not  burned,  which  was  carried  unanimously, 
and  the  meeting  quietly  separated. 

"  I  set  out  with  J.  B.  Abbott  to  return  to  Lawrence.  It  was  very 
dark  in  the  fore  part  of  the  evening.  Losing  our  way  we  got  belated, 
but  finally,  about  ten  or  eleven  o'clock,  found  our  way  to  Blanton,  where 
we  were  met  and  told  that  a  large  party  of  armed  men  had  just  passed 
towards  Hickory  Point.  I  immediately  urged  the  necessity  of  follow- 
ing the  party  to  ascertain  if  possible  their  business  to  Hickory  Point. 
We  finally  adjourned  to  Abbott's  for  supper.  After  supper  fresh  horses 
were  procured.  One  was  sent  up  and  down  the  Wakarusa  to  notify 
the  settlers,  two  started  upon  foot  to  raise  what  Free-State  settlers  they 
could  on  the  route  and  rendezvous  near  the  old  man  Branson's,  while 
Abbott  and  myself  went  to  Hickory  Point.  Never  shall  I  forget  that 
seven  miles'  ride.  Almost  the  whole  distance  was  passed  in  silence. 
Just  as  we  came  to  the  timber  I  turned  and  inquired  what  we  should 
do  if  we  found  the  rascals  at  Branson's.  Abbott  replied,  '  You  are  the 
leader;  just  what  you  say.'  With  tightened  rein,  revolvers  in  our 
hands,  we  galloped  into  the  thicket,  and  in  a  moment  were  at  the  door 
of  Branson's.  Dismounting,  I  hastily  inquired  for  Branson.  His 
wife,  an  old  lady,  in  choking  accents  replied,  '  Twenty  armed  men  have 
got  him  and  gone.'  '  Where?  '  I  asked.  '  Towards  Lawrence,'  she 
replied,  and  at  the  same  moment  said  they  would  '  murder  him,'  which 
I  believed  true,  and  sprang  into  the  saddle,  and  to  the  inquiry,  '  Where 
are  you  going? '  replied,  '  To  save  your  husband  or  die.' 

"  In  a  few  moments  we  were  again  upon  the  open  prairie,  moon  up 
and  bright.  Different  paths  were  examined,  but  no  signs  of  horses 
having  passed.  For  two  long  hours  we  galloped  over  the  prairie  from 
house  to  house,  inquiring  for  passing  horsemen,  but  could  get  no  tidings 
of  the  party.  *  At  last,  discouraged  and  dispirited,  fearing  they  had 
escaped  altogether,  we  separated,  Abbott  to  go  to  our  rendezvous  near 
Hickory  Point,  I  to  see  a  few  more  settlers  and  to  hasten  to  Abbott's 
house — to  stop  any  parties  of  friends  en  route  for  Hickory  Point.  I 
got  to  Abbott's  in  time  to  stop  a  party  of  a  dozen,  when  we  were  soon 
joined  by  Abbott,  who  did  not  wait  for  the  men  on  foot.  A  consulta- 
tion was  called,  and  we  were  about  sending  messengers  to  the  pro- 
slavery  town  of  Franklin  for  information,  when  all  at  once  some  one 
announced,  '  They  are  coming.'  Pell-mell  we  rushed  out  of  the  house 
and  got  into  the  road  ahead  of  them,  they  halting  within  two  rods  of  us. 
A  moment  was  passed  in  silence,  when  one  of  their  party  said,  '  What's 
up? '  Abbott  asked,  '  Is  Mr.  Branson  there?  '  Branson  replied,  '  Yes, 

*  It  turned  out  that  the  party  left  the  road  before  getting  out  of  the  timber,  and 
taking  a  circuitous  route,  went  to  a  pro-slavery  man's  house  a  mile  in  an  opposite 
direction  and  spent  two  hours  in  drinking  and  carousing. 


l86  THE     KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

I  am  here  a  prisoner.'  Said  S.  X.  Wood,  '  If  you  want  to  be  among 
your  friends  come  over  here.'  Said  some  of  the  opposite  party,  '  If  you 
move  we  will  shoot  you.'  Said  Huffs  (a  Hoosier),  '  Shoot  and  be 
d — d.'  Said  Wood  to  Branson,  '  Come  on,  let  them  shoot  if  they  want 
to,'  and,  turning  to  them,  said,  '  Gentlemen,  shoot,  and  not  a  man  of  you 
shall  leave  alive.'  Said  Branson  to  us,  '  I  will  do  just  as  you  say.' 
All  hands  on  our  side  said,  '  Come  on.'  Branson  attempted  to  ride 
to  us;  he  was  on  a  mule.  Says  some  one,  '  Whose  mule  is  that?' 
'  Theirs,'  says  Branson.  '  Get  off  of  it,'  said  Wood,  '  and  let  it  go.' 
Branson  dismounted.  Wood  left  the  ranks,  kicked  the  old  mule,  and 
told  it  to  go  back  among  its  friends.  Guns  were  aimed  and  cocked  upon 
both  sides,  but  just  as  Branson  left  one  of  the  opposite  party  lowered 
his  gun  with  the  remark,  '  I  ain't  going  to  shoot.'  Jones  then  advanced 
upon  horseback,  said  his  name  was  Jones,  that  he  was  Sheriff  of 
Douglas  County,  Kansas,  that  he  had  a  warrant  to  arrest  the  old  man 
Branson,  and  he  must  serve  it.  He  was  told  that  we  knew  of  no  Sheriff 
Jones  ;  that  we  knew  of  a  postmaster  at  Westport,  Missouri,  by  that 
name,  but  knew  of  no  Sheriff  Jones.  We  told  him  that  we  had  no 
Douglas  County  in  Kansas,  and  what  was  better,  we  never  intended 
to  have.  But  we  told  him  if  he  must  arrest  Branson,  to  go  at  it.  Jones 
still  said  he  had  a  warrant  to  arrest  him,  and  must  do  it.  S.  X.  Wood 
said  he  was  Branson's  attorney ;  that  if  he  had  a  warrant  to  arrest 
him  he  wanted  to  see  it,  and  see  if  it  was  all  right.  Jones  said  he 
had  it,  but  refused  to  show  it.  Wood  asked  him  if  it  had  been  read 
or  shown  to  Branson.  Jones  admitted  it  had  not,  when  he  was  told 
that,  until  he  produced  the  warrant,  Branson  could  not  go  with  him. 
An  hour  at  least  was  spent  in  parleying,  when  Jones  and  Company 
bid  our  party  good-night  and  left.  Our  party  immediately  organi/ed. 
S.  N.  Wood  was  elected  captain ;  S.  C.  Smith,  lieutenant.  The 
following  persons  were  present  at  the  time  the  rescue  took  place :  S. 
N.  Wood,  J.  B.  Abbott,  Daniel  Jones,  Philip  Hupp.  Miner  Hupp, 
1'hilip  Hutchinson,  Harrison  Nichols,  Jonathan  Kenneday,  Elmore 
Allen,  Carlos  Halloway,  Rev.  Julius  Elliot,  John  Smith,  Kdward  C'urlas, 
Wm.  Mears,  A.  Rowley — just  fifteen  of  us.  We  had  eight  guns  and 
two  revolvers.  I  shook  hands  with  the  most  and  counted  the  opposit<- 
party.  There  were  fifteen  of  them,  each  with  a  ritle  and  revolver.  I 
made  a  memorandum  of  the  above  names  at  the  time.  I  was  the  only 
citizen  of  Lawrence  engaged  in  the  rescue.  Just  after  the  rescue  took 
place  S.  C.  Smith,  S.  F.  Tappan,  L.  I.  Fastahmnk,  and  A.  Md'a\v 
joined  our  party.  A  few  moments  afterwards  I.ouis  Farley,  C.  Kiser, 
Rev.  J.  E.  Stewart,  F.  L.  Loch,  and  Mr.  Jcminson  joined  the  party: 
S.  .\.  Wood  and  S.  F.  Tappan  still  being  the  only  two  from  Lawrence 
present.  Our  party  being  organized,  we  marched  five  miles  to  Law- 
rence, where  we  arrived  about  daylight." 


EFFECT  OF  THE  RESCUE.  187 

That  the  matter  was  premeditated  but  few  Free-State  men 
at  that  time  doubted.  The  killing  of  Dow  was  not  of  itself 
sufficient  to  bring  on  a  conflict  with  a  pretended  legal  officer, 
but  the  arrest  of  such  a  man  as  Branson  when  the  people 
were  enraged  at  the  murder  would  most  likely  provoke  a 
rescue,  which  was  the  excuse  desired  for  calling  out  the  mili- 
tia, which  meant  the  people  of  Missouri.  To  make  the 
arrest  the  more  exasperating,  it  was  made  on  a  warrant 
issued  by  the  National  Democrat  and  professed  Free-State 
man  who,  as  judge  of  election,  received  the  votes  of  Mis- 
sourians  on  the  3oth  of  March,  namely,  Hugh  Cameron.  He 
was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  by  the  county  commis- 
sioners, who  were  appointed  by  the  Territorial  Legislature, 
which  Legislature  was  elected  by  the  invaders,  aided  and 
abetted  by  Cameron.  On  arriving  at  Lawrence,  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  rescuing  party  went  directly  to 
the  house  of  Dr.  Robinson,  on  Oread  Hill,  and  reported 
what  had  been  done.  Robinson  said  that  probably  this 
action  would  furnish  the  long-wished-for  pretext  for  calling 
out  a  force  against  Lawrence,  and  advised  that  they  report 
in  town. 

No  one  could  doubt  that  the  Governor  would  call  out 
the  militia,  ostensibly  to  enforce  the  law,  but  really  to  hu- 
miliate the  Free-State  men  and  destroy  Lawrence,  or  at 
least  to  compel  the  surrender  of  the  Sharp's  and  other 
rifles  at  that  place.  Here,  then,  was  the  first  skirmish,  and 
what  should  be  done?  Undoubtedly  the  force  would  be 
called  out  by  authority  of  the  Governor,  and  to  resist  it 
would  be  to  resist  Federal  authority,  which  could  not  be 
thought  of  for  a^ moment.  While  the  Free-State  men  might, 
under  favorable  circumstances,  resist  the  bogus  local  au- 
thority, the  moment  a  Federal  officer  appeared  all  were  loyal 
citizens  of  the  Republic.  There  was  nothing  left  to  be  done 
but  to  thwart,  baffle,  and  circumvent.  If  the  President 
chose  to  persist  in  the  enforcement  of  the  fraud  of  the  3oth 
of  March,  the  bona  fide  settlers  must  so  conduct  themselves 


1 88  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

as  to  make  it  cost  him  more  in  popularity  and  ease  than  he 
would  gain  for  the  cause  of  slavery  extension.  In  this  case 
the  policy  should  be  to  let  the  Governor  call  on  his  "  dogs  of 
war,"  the  more  the  better,  and  after  weeks  of  organization, 
pillage  and  outrage  upon  the  inhabitants,  thwart  the  whole 
movement  by  having  no  man  in  sight  to  arrest,  leaving  him 
nothing  to  do  but  swallow  his  rage  and  send  home  his 
minions.  The  spectacle  would  be  one  that  would  excite 
loathing,  disgust,  and  ridicule  from  one  end  of  the  nation  to 
the  other,  and  the  Administration  would  suffer  more  in  repu- 
tation than  by  the  loss  of  thousands  of  men  in  a  pitched 
battle.  If  the  Free-State  men  could  succeed  in  compelling 
the  Administration  to  raise  an  army  of  one  or  two  thousand 
men  every  time  a  peace  warrant  was  to  be  served,  the  people 
of  the  country  at  large  would  soon  remind  it  that  this  kind 
of  popular  sovereignty  was  entirely  too  unpopular,  and 
would  insist  that  the  people  of  the  Territory  should  be  left 
free  to  settle  their  own  matters  in  their  own  way,  according 
to  the  pledge  of  the  organic  act. 

After  the  rescue  the  bogus  Sheriff  went  to  Franklin,  a  pro- 
slavery  settlement  four  miles  southeast  of  Lawrence,  and 
from  there  sent  off  his  dispatches.  According  to  the  testi- 
mony of  L.  A.  Prather,  before  the  congressional  committee, 
the  first  dispatch  was  sent  to  Colonel  Boone,  of  Westport, 
Missouri,  and  the  second  to  the  Governor. 

Robinson  met  the  rescuers  in  town  about  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning  and  advised  that,  as  Lawrence  had  no  connec- 
tion with  the  matter,  any  formal  action  or  endorsement  by 
its  citizens  would  be  impolitic.  To  this  Colonel  Wood  and 
others  readily  assented,  Wood  saying  that  he  would  willingly 
be  arrested  in  order  to  test  in  the  Supreme  Court  the  right  of 
Missouri  to  make  laws  in  Kansas.  About  nine  o'clock  Rob- 
inson made  his  second  visit  to  the  town,  when  he  found  a 
meeting  of  the  citizens  in  progress.  He  was  informed  that 
a  Committee  of  Safety  had  been  appointed,  of  which  he  was 
a  member.  The  committee  was  at  once  convened,  and  it 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEFENSE.  189 

decided  that  Lawrence  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  affair,  and 
should  assume  no  responsibility  for  it  as  a  town,  although  no 
person  censured  the  rescuers  for  their  action. 

As  the  Free-State  men  had  been  accused  by  the  Adminis- 
tration of  insubordination  and  treason,  it  was  important  that 
their  position  should  be  clearly  stated  and  published  to  the 
world.  Accordingly,  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Committee 
of  Safety  was  to  make  this  statement : 

"  We,  the  citizens  of  Kansas  Territory,  find  ourselves  in  a  condition 
of  confusion  and  detenselessness  so  great,  that  open  outrage  and  mid- 
day murders  are  becoming  the  rule,  and  quiet  and  security  the  excep- 
tion. And  whereas  the  law,  the  only  authoritative  engine  to  correct 
and  regulate  the  excesses  and  wrongs  of  society,  has  never  yet  been 
extended  to  our  Territory — thus  leaving  us  with  no  fixed  or  definite 
rules  of  action,  or  source  of  redress — we  are  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
organizing  ourselves  together  on  the  basis  of  first  principles,  and  pro- 
viding for  the  common  defense  and  general  security.  And  here  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  the  resistance  of  lawlessness  and  outrage  at  all 
times,  when  required  by  the  officers  who  may  from  time  to  time  be 
chosen  to  superintend  the  movements  of  the  organization." 

After  several  days,  a  Leavenworth  paper  containing  the 
Governor's  proclamation  was  received,  and  the  following 
answer  was  made:  "That  the  allegations  contained  in  the 
proclamation  aforesaid  are  false  in  whole  and  in  part ;  that 
no  such  state  of  facts  exists  in  this  community ;  that  if  such 
representations  were  ever  made  to  Governor  Shannon,  the 
person  or  persons  who  made  them  have  grossly  deceived  him  ; 
and  no  association  of  lawless  men  armed  with  deadly  weap- 
ons has  ever  been  formed  in  this  community  for  the  purpose 
of  '  resisting  the  laws  of  the  country,  trampling  upon  the  au- 
thority of  its  officers,  destroying  the  property  of  peaceable 
citizens  or  molesting  any  person  in  this  Territory,  or  else- 
where, in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights.'  " 

While  the  Free-State  men  were  stating  their  position  to  the 
world,  and  acting  strictly  on  the  defensive,  the  other  side 
was  making,  through  the  officials,  the  most  extravagant  and 
reckless  assertions.  The  surveyor-general,  J.  Calhoun,  sent 


190  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

a  letter  to  the  St.  Louis  Republican,  which  is  referred  to  by 
the  Kansas  City  Enterprise  as  follows : 

"AUTHENTIC   NEWS    FROM    KANSAS. 

"Under  this  head  fat  Missouri  Republican  publishes  a  letter  from 
Hon.  John  Calhoun,  Surveyor-General  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  detail- 
ing the  events  connected  with  the  difficulties  at  Lawrence.  From  this 
letter  we  make  the  following  extracts ;  our  want  of  room  prevents  the 
publishing  of  the  whole  letter. 

"  After  giving  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  difficulty,  the  killing  of 
Dow  by  Coleman,  his  giving  himself  up  to  the  sheriff,  the  arrest  of 
Branson,  the  leader  of  the  band,  who  had  been  burning  down  hou.>e> 
and  driving  women  and  children  from  their  houses,  either  by  force  or 
threats,  he  then  gives  the  following  extracts  of  a  letter  from  Governor 
Shannon : 

"  '  The  excitement  is  up  in  Missouri.  The  appeals  of  flying  women 
and  children,  and  the  belief  that  the  abolitionists  have  determined  to 
expel  the  pro-slavery  men  from  Hickory  Grove,  has  kindled  a  flame 
that  no  human  power  can  control.' 

"  The  Governor  further  adds  : 

"  '  The  time  has  come  when  these  armed  men  must  be  met,  and 
brought  into  subjection  to  law,  or  surrender  the  Government  into  their 
hands.  I  have  determined  to  have  the  laws  executed,  and  to  protect 
the  unoffending  people  of  the  Territory  from  lawless  violence.  If  not, 
there  is  no  use  in  a  Government ;  and  to  let  these  armed  bands  triumph 
now  over  law  would  be  virtually  surrendering  the  whole  Government 
to  them.  But  I  can  do  this  by  the  force  of  our  own  citizens,  and  intend 
to  use  no  others.  But  who  can  control  the  storm?  These  abolitioni>t> 
are  mad.  They  are  bringing  on  themselves  utter  ruin,  and  all  this  i* 
the  legitimate  result  of  their  lawless,  secret  military  associations.1 

"  These  are  the  facts  as  they  have  occurred  up  to  this  time.  What 
to-morrow  will  bring  forth,  amid  the  excitement  which  such  outrages 
have  produced,  none  can  tell.  Of  one  thing  rest  assured,  the  laws  of 
this  Territory  will  be  executed.  That  Governor  Shannon  will  do  his 
full  duty  in  the  present  crisis  no  one  need  doubt.  *  *  * 

"  It  is  estimated  that  some  sixteen  dwelling  houses  have  been  burnt,  all 
of  them  in  the  night  time,  with  their  contents,  and  their  occupants,  men, 
women,  and  children,  driven  to  the  prairies  without  shelter  or  protec- 
tion. The  leading  spirit  of  these  lawless  movements  is('.  I\nl>in-.<m, 
the  leading  spirit  also  of  the  Topeka  Convention.  *  *  *  It  is  .said 
that  he  has  at  least  five  hundred  men,  armed  with  Sharp'.s  rifles  and 
revolvers,  determined  to  offer  a  forcible  resistance  to  the  execution  ot 
the  laws.  He  has  threatened  to  hang  Sheriff  Jones,  Coleman,  and 


CALHOUN'S    STATEMENT.  IQI 

others,  as  soon  as  he  can  get  hold  of  them.  Men  are  coming  to  the 
aid  of  the  Governor  from  all  parts  of  the  Territory.  He  is  determined 
that  the  laws  shall  be  executed,  and  that  all  these  offenders  shall  be 
punished  as  the  law  directs.  Yesterday  he  sent  a  dispatch  to  President 
Pierce,  asking  for  authority  to  use  the  military  force  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth.  To-day  or  to-morrow  he  will  get  a  reply.  If  he  should  get 
permission  to  bring  Sumner's  regiment  to  his  aid,  the  difficulty  will  be 
ended  without  bloodshed.  If  not,  the  most  serious  consequences  may 
be  apprehended. 

"  There  is  one  view  of  Kansas  difficulties  which  at  this  time  deserves 
serious  notice.  While  Robinson,  the  leading  agent  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Aid  Society,  the  head  of  the  Reeder  faction  at  Lawrence,  is  calling 
upon  abolitionists  and  free-soilers  to  elect  a  Governor  and  other  officers, 
in  violation  of  all  law,  and  is  leading  on  five  hundred  fanatics  openly 
to  resist  the  execution  of  the  law,  and  burning  down  dwellings  and 
driving  women  and  children  from  their  homes,  the  Leavenworth  wing 
of  the  Reeder  faction,  under  the  lead  of  Delahay  and  Shankland,  and 
Parrott,  the  author  of  the  Reeder  proclamation,  which  says  all  sensible 
men  '  scorn  and  repudiate '  the  Territorial  laws,  are  advertising  a  '  law 
and  order  '  convention,  which  is  to  take  place  on  next  Friday  at  Leaven- 
worth.  The  violators  of  law,  the  associates  of  Robinson  and  his  band 
of  midnight  desperadoes,  are  to  have  a  law  and  order  convention! 
This  needs  no  comment.  The  object  is  too  transparent  not  to  be  seen 
at  a  glance,  and  the  ridiculous  farce  will  fall  as  dead  as  their  previous 
Topeka  Convention. 

"  Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  J.  CALHOUN." 

When  squads  and  companies  of  armed  men  began  to  ar- 
rive at  Franklin  and  the  Wakarusa,  the  Committee  of  Safety 
organized  the  men  at  Lawrence,  some  of  whom  had  come 
from  other  localities,  into  a  regiment  in  due  form,  with  Lane 
as  Colonel,  under  the  general  supervision  of  Robinson,  who 
was  given  supreme  control,  subject  only  to  the  Committee  of 
Safety  or  council.  The  town  became  a  military  camp,  earth- 
works were  thrown  up  and  preparations  for  a  defense  made 
as  complete  as  possible.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  welcome 
given  to  the  re-enforcements  as  they  came  with  their  Sharp's 
rifles  from  different  settlements.  Cheer  upon  cheer  would 
go  up  till  the  whole  town  was  enthusiastic.  Especially  was 
the  arrival  of  one  hundred  men  well  armed,  from  Topeka, 


IQ2  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

hailed  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy.  The  Free-State 
men  from  Leavenworth,  compelled  from  circumstances  to  be 
conservative,  came  over  to  criticise  the  course  of  their  more 
radical  Free-State  brethren.  But  on  meeting  with  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  and  learning  the  situation,  they  fully  en- 
dorsed the  course  taken  by  the  people  and  joined  the  army 
of  defense.  Dr.  James  Davis,  one  of  the  Leavenworth  men, 
had  been  to  Lecompton  and  learned  that  the  pro-slavery 
men  were  determined  to  demand  a  surrender  of  all  Sharp's 
rifles  at  Lawrence  or  elsewhere,  and  desired  to  know  what 
could  be  done  about  it.  He  was  informed  by  Robinson 
that  another  "  Missouri  Compromise  "  would  be  proposed  in 
such  a  case,  namely,  keep  the  rifles  and  surrender  the  con- 
tents. This  would  be  the  only  surrender  the  people  would 
make,  as  was  afterwards  manifested  at  a  public  meeting. 
The  Free-State  men  were  not  over  scrupulous  in  matters  im- 
material, and  could  shape  their  course  relative  to  the  bogus 
laws  and  officers  as  policy  might  dictate,  but  when  it  be- 
came a  question  of  the  surrender  of  a  constitutional  right,  like 
the  one  to  have  arms  for  personal  defense,  no  man  or  set  of 
men  could  influence  them  to  yield  that  right.  As  soon  as 
the  military  organization  was  perfected,  the  Committee  of 
Safety  was  supplanted  by  a  council  consisting  of  all  officers, 
from  captain  up.  By  this  council  the  position  to  be  oc- 
cupied was  fully  discussed,  and  all  knew  that  it  was  impreg- 
nable, and  that  no  war  would  result  unless  by  accident,  or 
in  violation  of  orders.  All  could  see  that  no  Federal  officer 
would  dare  attack  a  city  without  cause,  and  Lawrence  had 
given  no  cause,  and  if  all  would  obey  orders  no  cause  would 
be  given.  Hence,  having  full  faith  in  themselves,  and  in 
the  strength  of  their  position,  all  went  about  their  duties  in 
preparing  for  defense  with  cheerfulness,  and  general  good 
feeling.  No  demonstrations,  no  threats,  no  bullying  was 
seen  or  heard  among  Free-State  men,  and  they  witnessed 
such  conduct  from  Jones  and  other  pro-slavery  men  with 
amusement  or  disgust.  The  position  of  the  men  at  Law- 


FREE-STATE    POSITION.  193 

rence  may  be  seen  from  remarks  made  on  the  2d  of  De- 
cember, at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens,  as  reported  in  Mrs. 
Robinson's  "  Kansas,"  page  122  : 

"  Dr.  Robinson,  having  been  called  upon  several  times  to  speak, 
also  having  been  called  from  the  hall  two  or  three  times,  at  last  said, 
in  a  plain  way,  and  in  brief,  that  '  It  was  a  time,  in  his  opinion,  for 
acting  rather  than  speaking;  that  Shannon  had  placed  himself  in  a  bad 
situation.  At  his  bidding  all  these  Missourians  had  come  over  to  help 
him  enforce  the  laws  ;  but  when  they  come  to  Lawrence  they  will  find 
that  nobody  has  broken  any  laws  ;  for  the  people  of  Lawrence  are  a  law- 
abiding  people.  Their  real  object  was  to  destroy  Lawrence ;  but  it  was 
a  question  whether  they  would  attempt  it  without  some  pretext ;  and 
before  the  American  people  Shannon  would  be  responsible  for  their 
conduct.  Fearful  of  some  atrocious  act  upon  the  part  of  his  drunken 
rabble,  he  has  been  compelled  to  remove  the  most  of  them  to  the  camps 
on  the  Wakarusa.  They  really  were  in  a  predicament.  They  were 
afraid,  and  with  reason,  to  attack  Lawrence  without  a  pretext.  He  had 
learned,  but  would  not  vouch  for  its  truth,  that  Shannon  had  telegraphed 
to  President  Pierce  for  the  troops  at  the  forts.  It  was  also  reported 
that  Pierce  had  telegraphed  back  again  that  he  might  have  them,  and, 
of  course,  he  would  get  them.  Of  course  he  would  disarm  the  people 
when  an  invading  force  of  drunken  Missourians  was  almost  at  our  doors, 
and  we  have  no  protection  in  the  government  of  the  country. '  (Laughter, 
and  cries  of  '  Of  course.')  '  Men  of  Lawrence,  and  Free-State  men,  we 
must  have  courage,  but  with  it  we  must  have  prudence.  These  men 
have  come  from  Missouri  to  subjugate  the  Free-State  men,  to  crush  the 
Free-State  movement — their  pretense,  that  outrages  have  been  commit- 
ted. They  are  sustained  by  all  the  United  States  authorities  here ;  and 
while  they  do  not  think  it  essential  that  a  good  cause  for  fighting  be 
given  them,  the  authorities  will  wait  at  least  for  a  plausible  excuse 
before  commencing  to  shed  blood.  This  excuse  must  not  be  given 
them.  Each  man  must  be  a  committee  of  one  to  guard  the  reputation 
as  well  as  the  lives  of  the  Free-State  men.  If  the  Missourians,  partly 
from  fear  and  partly  from  want  of  a  sufficient  pretext,  have  to  go  back 
without  striking  a  blow,  it  will  make  them  a  laughing-stock  and  re- 
dound fearfully  against  Shannon.  This  is  the  last  struggle  between 
freedom  and  slavery,  and  we  must  not  flatter  ourselves  that  it  will  be 
trivial  or  short.  The  Free-State  men  must  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
with  an  unbroken  front,  and  stand  or  fall  together  in  defense  of  their 
liberties  and  homes.  These  may  be  dark  days,  but  the  American  people 
and  the  world  will  justify  us,  and  the  cause  of  right  will  eventually 
triumph.'  The  enthusiasm  with  which  these  remarks  were  received 
evinced  the  deep  feeling  and  determined  spirit  of  the  meeting." 
18 


1 94  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

The  forbearance  of  the  Free-State  men  is  shown  on  page 
125  of  the  same  book: 

"  A  startling  incident  occurred  last  night.  One  of  our  picket  guards 
was  fired  upon.  Two  of  the  guard  were  sitting  together,  when  a  party 
of  Missourians  approached  and  fired  six  shots  at  them.  Our  men  had 
strict  orders  not  to  fire,  unless  the  emergency  was  desperate,  and  so 
bore  the  insult  with  remarkable  prudence,  and  obeyed  orders. 

"  Our  people  are  acting  strictly  upon  the  defensive,  and  these  provo- 
cations are  continually  offered  us  to  provoke  a  collision.  They  are 
endeavoring  to  draw  them  from  the  position  which  all  the  world  will 
justify,  that  they  may  have  a  pretext  for  the  destruction  of  Lawrence, 
which  is  really  the  whole  cause  of  the  invasion." 

For  the  first  week  of  preparation  the  pro-slavery  men 
were  bold  and  blustering,  threatening  the  direst  vengeance 
against  the  hated  town  of  Lawrence  and  all  abolitionists. 
Jones  frequently  passed  through  Lawrence  undisturbed,  as 
did  other  pro-slavery  men,  no  person  paying  much  attention 
to  them.  On  one  occasion  Jones  was  asked  in  presence  of 
Robinson  what  he  wanted  ?  and  he  replied  he  would  let  the 
people  know  when  he  got  ready.  Pro-slavery  papers  in 
Kansas  and  on  the  border  of  Missouri  sounded  the  alarm  and 
called  loudly  for  volunteers  to  put  down  the  terrible  rebell- 
ion and  wipe  out  once  for  all  the  hated  abolitionists.  Such 
reports  as  follow  were  current : 

"  WESTPORT,  November  27th. 
"  Hon.  E.  A.  McClarey,  Jefferson  City : 

"  Governor  Shannon  has  ordered  out  the  militia  against  Lawrence. 
They  are  now  in  open  rebellion  against  the  laws.  Jones  is  in  danger." 

"  (Private.)  DEAR  GENERAL:  The  Governor  has  called  out  the 
militia,  and  you  will  hereby  organize  your  division,  and  proceed  forth- 
with to  Lecompton.  As  the  Governor  has  no  power,  you  may  call  out 
the  Platte  Rifle  Company.  They  are  always  ready  to  help  us.  What- 
ever you  do,  do  not  implicate  the  Governor. 

"  DAMKI.  \Y<MH>S<>\." 

"  WESTON,  Mo.,  November  3Oth. 

"  The  greatest  excitement  continues  to  exist  in  Kansas.  The  officers 
have  been  resisted  by  the  mobocrats,  and  the  interposition  of  the  militia 
has  been  called  for.  A  secret  letter  from  Secretary  Woodson  to  Gen- 
eral Eastin  has  been  written,  in  which  the  writer  requests  General 


ORDERS  FROM  GOVERNOR  SHANNON.         195 

Eastin  to  call  for  the  rifle  company,  at  Platte  City,  Missouri,  so  as  not 
to  compromise  Governor  Shannon.  Four  hundred  men  from  Jackson 
County  are  now  en  route  for  Douglas  County,  K.  T.  St.  Joseph  and 
Weston  are  requested  to  furnish  each  the  same  number.  The  people  of 
Kansas  are  to  be  subjugated  at  all  hazards." 

In  addition  to  his  proclamation  declaring  the  Free-State 
men  in  rebellion,  Governor  Shannon  sent  this  order  to  Gen- 
eral Richardson : 

"  HEADQUARTERS,  SHAWXEE  MISSION,  K.  T., 

"  November  27,  1855. 
' '  Major-  General  William  P.  Richardson  : 

"  SIR:  Reliable  information  has  reached  me  that  an  armed  military 
force  is  now  in  Lawrence,  and  that  vicinity,  in  open  rebellion  against 
the  laws  of  this  Territory,  and  that  they  have  determined  that  no  process 
in  the  hands  of  the  Sheriff  of  that  county  shall  be  executed.  I  have 
received  a  letter  from  S.  J.  Jones,  Sheriff  of  Douglas  County,  informing 
me  that  he  had  arrested  a  man  under  a  warrant  placed  in  his  hands, 
and  while  conveying  him  to  Lecompton  he  was  met  by  an  armed  force 
of  some  forty  men,  and  that  the  prisoner  was  taken  out  of  his  custody, 
and  defiance  bid  to  the  laws.  I  am  also  duly  advised  that  an  armed 
band  of  men  have  burnt  a  number  of  houses,  destroyed  personal  prop- 
erty, and  turned  whole  families  out  of  doors  in  Douglas  County.  War- 
rants will  be  issued  against  these  men  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
Sheriff  of  Douglas  County  for  execution.  He  has  written  to  me 
demanding  three  thousand  men  to  aid  him  in  the  execution  of  the  pro- 
cess of  law. 

"  You  are,  therefore,  hereby  ordered  to  collect  together  as  large  a 
force  as  you  can  in  your  division,  and  repair  without  delay  to  Lecomp- 
ton and  report  yourself  to  S.  J.  Jones,  Sheriff  of  Douglas  County, 
together  with  the  number  of  your  forces,  and  render  him  all  the  aid  and 
assistance  in  your  power  in  the  execution  of  any  legal  process  in  his 
hands.  The  forces  under  your  command  are  to  be  used  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  aiding  the  Sheriff  in  executing  the  law,  and  for  no  other 
purpose. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

"  WILSON  SHANNON." 

A  similar  order  was  sent  to  General  Strickler. 

General  Eastin,  editor  of  the  Leavenworth  Herald,  both 
through  his  paper  and  otherwise,  sought  to  arouse  the  Slave- 
State  men.  He  sent  out  the  following  appeal: 


196  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"TO   ARMS  !     TO    ARMS  !! 

"It  is  expected  that  every  lover  of  Law  and  Order  will  rally  at 
Leavenworth  on  Saturday,  December  i,  1855,  prepared  to  march  at 
once  to  the  scene  of  the  rebellion,  to  put  down  the  outlaws  of  Douglas 
County,  who  are  committing  depredations  upon  persons  and  property, 
burning  down  houses  and  declaring  open  hostility  to  the  laws,  and  have 
forcibly  rescued  a  prisoner  from  the  Sheriff.  Come  one,  come  all! 
The  laws  must  be  executed.  The  outlaws,  it  is  said,  are  armed  to  the 
teeth,  and  number  1000  men.  Every  man  should  bring  his  rifle  and 
ammunition,  and  it  would  be  well  to  bring  two  or  three  days'  provision. 
Every  man  to  his  post,  and  to  his  duty. 

"  MANY  CITIZENS." 

Governor  Shannon,  as  has  been  seen,  wrote  John  Calhoun, 
who  published  it  in  the  St.  Louis  Republican,  that  "  the  time 
has  come  when  these  armed  men  must  be  met  and  brought 
into  subjection  to  law.  *  *  *  If  not  there  is  no  use  in 
a  government.  *  *  *  But  I  can  do  this  by  the  force  of 
our  own  citizens,  and  intend  to  use  no  other.  Who  can 
control  the  storm?  These  abolitionists  are  mad.  They  are 
bringing  on  themselves  utter  ruin,  and  all  this  is  the  legiti- 
mate result  of  their  lawless  secret  military  associations." 

Surveyor-General  Calhoun  himself  says:  "Of  one  thing 
rest  assured,  the  laws  of  this  Territory  will  be  executed." 

So  much  for  the  first  week  of  the  invasion.  Governor 
Shannon's  proclamations  and  letters,  and  the  bluster  of 
others,  intended  to  raise  the  wind  for  the  purpose  of  serving 
a  peace  warrant,  threatened  to  raise  not  only  a  whirlwind. 
but  a  cyclone,  and  they  began  to  call  upon  the  rocks  and 
mountains  to  hide  them  from  the  impending  wrath.  L.  J. 
Eastin,  brigadier-general  of  militia,  and  editor  of  the  Leav- 
enworth Herald,  who  had  been  so  bold  and  aggressive,  sends 
this  to  Governor  Shannon  :  "  Information  has  been  received 
here  direct  from  Lawrence,  which  I  consider  reliable,  that 
the  outlaws  are  well  fortified  at  Lawrence  with  cannon  and 
Sharp's  rifles,  and  number  at  least  1000  men.  It  will  there- 
fore be  difficult  to  dispossess  them.  The  militia  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  State  are  entirely  unorganized,  and  mostly  without 


SHANNON  CALLS  FOR  HELP.  197 

arms.  I  suggest  the  propriety  of  calling  upon  the  military 
at  Fort  Leavenworth.  If  you  have  the  power  to  call  out 
the  Government  troops,  I  think  it  would  be  best  to  do  so  at 
once.  It  might  overawe  these  outlaws  and  prevent  blood- 
shed." 

Governor  Shannon,  who  was  so  confident  that  he  could 
put  down  this  rebellion  with  the  "  force  of  our  own  citizens," 
and  who  declared  to  Calhoun  that  he  should  "  use  no 
others,"  now  sent  this  dispatch  to  Colonel  Sumner,  dated 
December  6th : 

"  WAKARUSA,  December  6,  1855. 
' '  Colonel  Sumner,  First  U,  S.  Cavalry  : 

"  SIR  :  I  send  you  this  special  dispatch  to  ask  you  to  come  to  "Law- 
rence as  soon  as  you  possibly  can.  My  object  is  to  secure  the  citizens 
of  that  place,  as  well  as  others,  from  a  warfare  which,  if  once  com- 
menced, there  is  no  telling  where  it  will  end.  I  doubt  not  you  have 
received  orders  from  Washington,  but  if  you  have  not,  the  absolute 
pressure  of  this  crisis  is  such  as  to  justify  you  with  the  President  and 
the  world  in  moving  to  the  scene  of  difficulty.  It  is  hard  to  restrain 
the  men  here  (they  are  beyond  my  power,  or  at  least,  soon  will  be) 
from  making  an  attack  on  Lawrence,  which,  if  once  made,  there  is  no 
telling  where  it  will  terminate.  The  presence  of  a  portion  of  the  United 
States  troops  at  Lawrence  would  prevent  an  attack,  save  bloodshed,  and 
enable  us  to  get  matters  arranged  in  a  satisfactory  way,  and  at  the  same 
time  secure  an  execution  of  the  laws.  It  is  peace,  not  war,  that  we 
want,  and  you  have  the  power  to  secure  peace.  Time  is  precious — 
fear  not  but  that  you  will  be  sustained. 

"  With  great  respect, 

"WILSON  SHANNON." 

He  also  sent  to  Jones : 

"  The  known  deficiency  in  arms  and  all  the  accoutrements  of  war, 
which  must  necessarily  characterize  the  law-abiding  citizens  who  have 
rushed  to  your  assistance  in  the  maintenance  of  order,  will  invite  re- 
sistance from  your  opponents,  who  are  well  supplied  with  arms.  It 
would  be  wrong,  therefore,  to  place  your  men  in  a  position  where  their 
lives  would  be  endangered  when  we  shall,  in  all  probability,  have  an 
ample  force  from  Leavenworth  in  a  few  days." 

Sheriff  Jones  did  not  want  to  be  hampered  by  Govern- 
ment troops,  knowing  very  well  that  he  had  no  case  at  Law- 


198  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

rence  that  Sumner  would  recognize  as  authorizing  his  action, 
and  he  wrote  the  Governor  as  follows : 

"  (.'AMI-  AT  WAKARUSA,  December  3,  1855. 
"  His  Excellency  Governor  \\'ilson  Shannon: 

"  SIR  :  In  reply  to  your  communication  of  yesterday,  I  have  to  inform 
you  that  the  volunteer  forces  now  at  this  place  and  Lecompton  are  get- 
ting weary  of  inaction.  They  will,  I  presume,  remain  but  a  short  time 
longer,  unless  a  demand  for  the  prisoner  is  made.  I  think  I  shall  have 
a  sufficient  force  to  protect  me  by  to-morrow  morning.  The  force  at 
Lawrence  is  not  half  so  strong  as  reported.  I  have  this  from  a  reliable 
source.  If  I  am  to  wait  for  Government  troops,  more  than  two-thirds 
of  the  men  now  here  will  go  away  very  much  dissatisfied.  They  are 
leaving  hourly  as  it  is.  I  do  not  by  any  means  wish  to  violate  your 
ordess,  but  I  really  believe  that  if  I  have  a  sufficient  force  it  would  be 
better  to  make  the  demand.  It  is  reported  that  the  people  of  Lawrence 
'  have  run  off '  those  offenders  from  that  town,  and  indeed  it  is  said  that 
they  are  now  all  out  of  the  way.  I  have  writs  for  sixteen  persons  who 
were  with  the  party  that  rescued  my  prisoner.  S.  N.  Wood,  P.  R. 
Brooks,  and  Samuel  Tappan  are  of  Lawrence,  the  balance  from  the 
country  around.  Warrants  will  be  placed  in  my  hands  to-day  for  the 
arrest  of  G.  W.  Brown,  and  probably  others  in  Lawrence.  They  say 
they  are  willing  to  obey  the  laws,  but  no  confidence  can  be  placed  in 
any  statements  they  may  make. 

"  No  evidence  sufficient  to  cause  a  warrant  to  be  issued  has  as  yet 
been  brought  against  these  lawless  men  who  fired  the  houses.  I  would 
give  you  the  names  of  the  defendants,  but  the  writs  are  in  my  office  at 
Lecompton. 

"  Most  respectfully  yours, 

"  SAMUEL  J.  JONES, 
"  Sheriff  of  Douglas  County." 

Anderson  followed  suit  with  this  letter  to  General  Rich- 
ardson : 

"  Major-General  William  P.  Richardson: 

"  SlR:  I  have  reason  to  believe  from  rumors  in  camp,  that  before 
to-morrow  morning  the  black  flag  will  be  hoisted,  when  nine  out  of  ten 
will  rally  around  it,  and  march  without  orders  upon  Lawrence.  The 
forces  of  Lecompton  camp  fully  understand  the  plot,  and  will  fight 
under  the  same  banner. 

"  If  Governor  Shannon  will  pledge  himself  not  to  allow  any  United 
States  officer  to  interfere  with  the  arms  belonging  to  the  United  States 
now  in  their  possession,  and  in  case  there  is  no  battle,  order  the  United 


FREE-STATE    MEN    SPEAK.  199 

States  forces  off  at  once  and  retain  the  militia  provided  any  force  is 
retained,  all  will  be  well,  and  all  will  obey  to  the  end,  and  commit  no 
depredations  upon  private  property  in  Lawrence. 

"  I  fear  a  collision  between  the  United  States  soldiers  and  the  volun- 
teers, which  would  be  dreadful. 

' '  Speedy  measures  should  be  taken.     Let  me  know  at  once — to-night 
— and  I  fear  it  will  then  be  too  late  to  stay  the  rashness  of  our  people. 
"  Respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

"  J.  C.  ANDERSON." 

The  council  at  Lawrence  sent  the  following  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, who  was  still  at  the  Shawnee  Mission : 

"  To  his  Excellency,  Wilson  Shannon, 

' '  Goz'ernor  of  Kansas  Territory  : 

"  SIR  :  As  citizens  of  Kansas  Territory,  we  desire  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  a  large  force  of  armed  men  from  a  foreign  State 
have  assembled  in  the  vicinity  of  Lawrence,  and  are  now  committing 
depredations  upon  our  citizens,  stopping  wagons,  opening  and  appro- 
priating their  loads,  arresting,  detaining,  and  threatening  travellers 
upon  the  public  road,  and  that  they  claim  to  do  this  by  your  authority. 
We  desire  to  know  if  they  do  appear  by  your  authority,  and  if  you  will 
secure  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  community  by  ordering  their  instant 
removal,  or  compel  us  to  resort  to  some  other  means  and  to  higher 
authority." 

(Signed  by  committee.) 

This  must  have  been  a  revelation  to  the  Governor,  as  it 
was  intended  to  be.  Here  was  no  appeal  for  mercy  or  par- 
don for  crimes  committed,  no  cry  for  help  in  time  of  distress, 
and  no  cringing  of  slaves  to  a  master,  but  a  stern  demand  of 
rights  from  citizens  to  an  official  servant.  This  message  was 
taken  to  the  Governor  by  two  young  men  through  the  lines 
of  the  enemy  camped  at  Franklin  and  on  the  Wakarusa. 
It  was  a  most  hazardous  mission,  as  they  had  to  encounter 
drunken  men  as  well  as  sentinels  nearly  the  whole  distance. 
Their  names  are  G.  P.  Lowry  and  C.  W.  Babcock,  and  well 
did  they  execute  their  trust.  They  reached  the  Governor  in 
safety,  and  the  interview  is  thus  described  by  Lowry  in  his 
testimony  before  the  congressional  committee,  as  reported 
on  page  1079 : 


200  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  We  got  to  Shavvnee  Mission  a  little  after  sunrise,  and  presented 
our  letter  to  Governor  Shannon,  and  he  read  it,  as  it  was  very  short, 
and  then  we  conversed  upon  the  affairs  here. 

*  *  #  *  *  *  * 

"  Governor  Shannon  said  he  would  answer  the  letter,  and  we  went 
out  while  he  was  doing  so.  When  we  returned  we  had  a  long  conver- 
sation concerning  these  affairs.  He  said  there  had  been  sixteen  houses 
burned  here  by  Free-State  men,  and  women  and  children  driven  out  of 
doors.  We  told  him  we  were  sorry  that  he  had  not  taken  pains  to 
inquire  into  the  truth  of  the  matter  before  he  had  brought  this  large 
force  into  the  country,  which,  perhaps,  he  could  not  get  out  again ;  and 
that  his  information  was  wholly  and  entirely  false,  as  nothing  of  the 
kind  had  happened.  We  told  him  of  what  we  knew,  of  our  personal 
knowledge,  of  men  from  Missouri  there ;  and  he  was  not  inclined  to 
admit,  at  first,  that  there  was  anybody  from  Missouri  there.  He  made 
a  general  argument  against  the  Free-State  men,  and  quoted  their 
resolutions,  passed  at  different  meetings,  in  regard  to  the  Territorial 
laws.  We  explained  to  him  that  the  Territorial  laws  had  nothing  to  do 
with  this  case ;  that  we  were  getting  ready  at  Lawrence  to  fight  for  our 
lives,  and  the  only  question  was,  whether  he  would  \ttpartitepfcriminis 
to  our  murder,  or  the  murder  of  somebody  else,  should  we  be  all 
slaughtered.  We  explained  to  him  that  the  rescue  upon  which  he  based 
his  proclamation  took  place  a  number  of  miles  from  Lawrence;  that 
there  were  but  three  persons  living  in  Lawrence  who  were  alleged  to 
have  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  and  that  they  had  left  the  town,  and 
were  not  there  at  all;  that  from  what  we  could  judge  of  the  intentions 
of  the  force  at  Wakarusa,  at  Lecompton,  and  in  the  country  about,  from 
their  own  declarations,  they  intended  to  destroy  the  town  for  a  thing  in 
which  they  had  had  no  part  or  parcel. 

"  We  took  our  individual  cases  as  instances  that  we  had  not  been 
present  at  the  rescue;  that  we  did  not  undertake  to  have  any  sympathy 
with  it,  or  talk  about  it  at  all ;  but  that  if  we  were  to  submit  to  the  force 
which  he  had  called  in,  all  our  throats  would  be  cut  together — the 
innocent  and  guilty,  if  there  were  any  guilty.  He  then  denied  that 
these  Missourians  were  here  by  his  authority;  that  he  had  anything  to 
do  with  them,  or  was  responsible  for  them.  He  said  he  had  communi- 
cation with  Colonel  Sumner,  of  Fort  Leavenworth,  and  had  sent  an 
express  for  him  to  meet  him  that  night  at  Delaware  Ferry,  and  go  with 
him  to  the  camp  on  the  Wakarusa.  He  said  he  should  go  to  Lawrence 
and  insist  upon  the  people  agreeing  to  obey  the  laws,  and  delivering  up 
their  Sharp's  rifles.  We  denied  his  right,  or  the  right  of  anybody  else, 
to  make  such  a  condition  of  a  community,  or  make  any  such  demand  of 
them,  until  it  had  been  shown  that  they  had  resisted  the  laws,  which 
they  had  not  done;  that  there  had  been  as  yet  no  proceedings  in  Law- 


SHANNON'S  EYES  OPENED.  2OI 

rence  under  the  Territorial  laws,  and  he  had  no  right  to  presume  that 
there  would  be  any  resistance  to  them  when  they  were  instituted.  He 
gave  up  that  point  after  some  argument.  I  asked  him,  then,  why  he 
insisted  upon  the  giving  up  of  Sharp's  rifles,  and  if  he  meant  to  demand, 
too,  Western  rifles,  shot-guns,  and  other  arms.  He  said  he  did  not 
intend  to  demand  other  than  Sharp's  rifles,  but  should  demand  them 
because  they  were  unlawful  weapons.  After  some  time  he  then  said 
they  were  dangerous  weapons ;  to  which  I  agreed.  I  then  told  him,  if 
he  had  any  such  idea  in  his  head  as  that,  he  had  better  stay  away  and 
let  the  fight  go  on,  as  I  thought  the  thing  was  not  feasible,  as  he  would 
do  no  good  by  coming  here  if  those  were  his  terms.  I  told  him  he 
might  as  well  demand  of  me  my  pocket-book  or  my  watch,  and  I  would 
resent  the  one  no  more  than  the  other.  I  told  him  I  did  not  consider 
myself  safe,  or  that  General  Robinson  or  Colonel  Lane  would  be  safe, 
in  going  before  our  men  with  any  such  proposition.  He  then  gave  us 
the  letter  he  had  written,  and  we  started  for  Kansas  City  to  change 
horses." 

Although  Governor  Shannon,  before  the  same  committee, 
contradicted  some  of  the  testimony  of  Lowry,  he  got  his 
eyes  opened  by  the  message  and  interview  sufficiently,  at 
least,  to  see  "  men  as  trees  walking,"  and  he  hastened  to  the 
encampment  of  his  army  of  invasion  or  occupation.  After 
conferring  with  the  high  officials  in  command,  he  sent  to 
Lawrence,  as  previously  arranged,  for  an  escort  to  visit  that 
town.  On  arrival  he  and  his  friends  were  introduced  to  the 
council  and  others,  after  which  a  consultation  was  held  with 
Robinson  and  Lane,  who  had  been  authorized  to  represent 
the  citizens.  Governor  Shannon  needed  no  new  facts  or 
arguments,  but  at  once  confessed  his  mistake.  He  had  mis- 
understood the  situation,  admitted  there  was  no  cause  to 
attack  Lawrence,  and  that  no  crime  or  violation  of  law  had 
been  committed  in  the  town.  His  only  solicitude  was  to  get 
his  army  to  their  homes  without  bloodshed.  He  did  not 
claim  that  he  had  a  right  to  disarm  the  people,  although  his 
army  would  demand  the  Sharp's  rifles.  On  being  assured 
that  no  such  demand  would  be  listened  to  by  the  people  of 
Lawrence,  he  did  not  press  it.  He  had  sent  a  messenger  to 
Colonel  Sumner,  and  expected  his  arrival  in  a  short  time.  He 


202  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

deemed  it  important  to  announce  no  conclusion  of  the  con- 
ference till  the  next  day,  when  Sumner  would  certainly  be 
present  with  United  States  troops.  An  adjournment  was 
had  accordingly.  In  the  meantime  each  party  was  to  pre- 
pare a  written  statement  that  might  assist  the  Governor  in 
reconciling  his  army  to  return  without  wiping  out  Lawrence, 
as  intended  and  promised  by  Jones  and  company.  The 
next  day  the  Governor  returned,  but  there  was  no  Colonel 
Sumner  or  United  States  troops  in  sight.  The  drafts  for  a 
treaty  or  agreement  were  considered,  and  one  finally  approved 
by  both  parties.  It  reads  as  follows : 

"  WHKREAS,  There  is  a  misunderstanding  between  the  people  of 
Kansas,  or  a  portion  of  them,  and  the  Governor  thereof,  arising  out  of 
the  rescue,  near  Hickory  Point,  of  a  citizen  under  arrest,  and  some 
other  matters ;  and  whereas  a  strong  apprehension  exists  that  said  mis- 
understanding may  lead  to  civil  strife  and  bloodshed ;  and  whereas  it  is 
desired,  by  both  Governor  Shannon  and  the  people  of  Lawrence  and 
vicinity,  to  avert  a  calamity  so  disastrous  to  the  interests  of  the  Terri- 
tory and  the  Union,  and  to  place  all  parties  in  a  correct  position  before 
the  world : 

"  Now,  therefore,  it  is  agreed  by  the  said  Governor  Shannon,  and 
the  undersigned  people  of  Lawrence,  that  the  matter  in  dispute  be  set- 
tled as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  We,  the  said  citizens  of  said  Territory,  protest  that  the  said  rescue 
was  made  without  our  knowledge  or  consent,  but,  if  any  of  our  citizens 
were  engaged,  we  pledge  ourselves  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  any  legal 
process  against  them  ;  that  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  previous,  pres- 
ent, or  prospective  existence  of  any  organization  in  the  said  Territory 
for  resistance  against  the  laws,  and  that  we  have  not  designed,  and  do 
not  design,  to  resist  the  legal  service  of  any  criminal  process  therein, 
but  pledge  ourselves  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  the  laws,  when  called  on 
by  proper  authority,  in  the  town  or  vicinity  of  Lawrence,  and  that  \ve 
will  use  all  our  influence  in  preserving  order  therein ;  and  we  declare 
that  we  are  now,  as  we  ever  have  been,  ready  at  any  time  to  aid  the 
Governor  in  securing  a  posse  for  the  execution  of  such  process :  pro- 
vided that  any  person  thus  arrested  in  Lawrence  or  vicinity,  while  a 
foreign  force  shall  reman  in  the  Territory,  shall  be  duly  examined  before 
a  United  States  District  Judge  of  said  Territory  in  said  town,  and  ad- 
mitted to  bail ;  and  provided,  further,  that  Governor  Shannon  agrees  to 
use  his  influence  to  secure  to  the  citizens  of  Kansas  Territory  remu- 
neration for  any  damages  sustained,  or  unlawful  depredations,  if  any  such 


MURDER    OF    BARBER.  203 

have  been  committed  by  the  Sheriff's  posse  in  Douglas  County ;  and, 
further,  that  Governor  Shannon  states  that  he  has  not  called  upon  per- 
sons resident  of  any  other  State  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  the  laws,  and 
such  as  are  here  in  this  Territory  are  here  of  their  own  choice ;  and  that 
he  has  not  any  authority  or  legal  power  to  do  so,  nor  will  he  exercise 
any  such  power,  and  that  he  will  not  call  on  any  citizen  of  another  State 
who  may  be  here.  That  we  wish  it  understood  that  we  do  not  herein 
express  any  opinion  as  to  the  validity  of  the  enactments  of  the  Territorial 
Legislature. 

(Signed),  "  WILSON  SHANNON, 

"  C.  ROBINSON, 
"  J.  H.  LANE." 

The  people  of  Lawrence  were  willing  to  help  the  Governor 
out  of  his  scrape  as  much  as  possible  without  compromising 
their  attitude  towards  the  territorial  fraud,  the  Legislature. 
That  there  might  be  no  quibbling  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
terms  of  the  agreement  relative  to  territorial  laws,  Robinson 
added  the  last  sentence  to  the  document. 

This  was  a  most  critical  juncture.  The  Governor  was 
terribly  in  earnest  to  effect  a  settlement,  while  the  pro-slavery 
leaders,  represented  by  Jones  and  the  ultra  men,  were  as  de- 
termined that  Lawrence  should  be  attacked.  The  day  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Governor  at  Lawrence,  two  men,  G.  W. 
Clark,  Indian  agent,  and  Mr.  Burns,  left  their  party,  which 
was  going  from  Lecompton  to  Franklin,  and  wantonly  and 
without  provocation  killed  Thomas  Barber,  a  Free-State  man, 
on  his  way  from  Lawrence  to  his  home.  Also  the  guard 
was  frequently  fired  upon  with  a  view  to  bring  on  a  conflict. 
In  one  instance  only  was  the  fire  returned,  and  that  was 
when  Coleman,  the  murderer  of  Dow,  passed  down  the  road 
on  a  mule  and  fired  upon  the  guard.  The  return  shot  hit 
the  mule,  but  not  the  rider.  Governor  Shannon  was  visibly 
affected  when,  on  going  up-stairs  to  the  council-room,  he  saw 
the  dead  body  of  Barber  stretched  upon  a  bench,  dressed  as 
he  had  fallen  from  his  horse,  and  with  eyes  apparently  staring 
at  the  stairway,  and  the  moans  of  the  widow,  as  they  were 
heard  from  another  room,  were  not  consoling  to  his  feelings. 


204  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Probably  the  Administration  at  Washington  was  divided 
by  the  same  influences  that  operated  in  Kansas.  Governor 
Shannon  telegraphed  the  President  on  the  3d  of  December 
for  permission  to  use  the  troops  at  Fort  Leavenworth.  He 
was  answered  that  he  might  use  them.  He  sent  this  answer 
to  Colonel  Sumner,  and  he  at  first  promised  to  respond,  but 
on  reconsideration  of  the  matter  he  concluded  to  await  an 
order  from  the  War  Department  before  moving.  This  order 
never  came. 

As  Jeff  Davis  was  the  head  of  this  department,  and  as  he 
probably  desired  a  conflict  of  the  militia  or  posse  with  the 
citizens,  and  knew  that  the  presence  of  United  States  troops 
would  prevent  it,  he  declined  to  send  the  order,  as  authorized 
by  the  President. 

In  his  desire  to  reconcile  his  force  to  a  back-down,  Gov- 
ernor Shannon  had  arranged,  before  going  to  Lawrence  on 
his  second  visit,  to  have  a  joint  meeting  of  the  opposing  lead- 
ers. Accordingly  he  desired  a  delegation  from  Lawrence  to 
accompany  him  to  Franklin  and  meet  with  the  captains  of 
the  militia.  Lane  and  Robinson  complied  with  his  request. 
At  the  meeting  in  an  unfinished  building,  Governor  Shannon 
led  off  with  an  explanation  of  the  settlement,  giving  the  posi- 
tion occupied  by  the  citizens  of  Lawrence.  After  him  Colonel 
Lane  attempted  to  speak,  but  his  opening  so  offended  the 
thirteen  militia  captains  that  they  started  to  leave  the  room, 
saying  they  did  not  come  there  to  be  insulted.  Governor 
Shannon  begged  of  them  to  remain  and  hear  Dr.  Robinson. 
Lane  did  not  proceed,  and  Robinson,  in  a  few  words,  ex- 
plained the  action  of  the  people  of  Lawrence,  saying  that  no 
attempt  had  ever  been  made  to  serve  any  process  in  the  town, 
legal  or  otherwise,  by  any  officer,  real  or  pretended.  Jones 
was  appealed  to  by  a  militia  officer  to  know  if  Robinson  told 
the  truth.  Jones  replied  that  he  did.  Then,  the  response 
about  the  room  was,  "We  have  been  damnably  deceived." 
As  to  the  Sharp's  rifles,  Robinson  appealed  to  them  to  say  if 
they  would,  as  American  citizens,  submit  to  be  deprived  of 


INTERVIEW  OF  LEADERS.  205 

the  constitutional  right  to  bear  arms,  or  if  they  would  respect 
any  people  who  would  thus  submit  ?  The  leading  men  saw 
their  predicament,  and  said,  "  Boys,  it  is  no  use,  they  have  got 
us ;  we  can  do  nothing  this  time,"  and  the  conference  ended 
with  a  pressing  invitation  to  remain  to  supper.  This  Lane 
and  Robinson,  as  it  was  getting  dark,  and  a  strong  north- 
west wind  had  risen,  with  heavy  sleet,  tried  to  decline.  But 
they  said  that  Governor  Shannon  and  party  had  dined  with 
Robinson,  and  no  refusal  would  be  accepted.  When  supper 
was  over,  it  was  so  dark  no  object  was  visible,  and  the  sound 
of  the  horses'  hoofs  upon  the  hard  road  was  the  only  guide 
to  the  travellers.  A  solitary  horseman  started  to  escort  the 
visitors  through  the  lines,  but  he  proceeded  only  about  one 
hundred  yards,  when  he  said  good-night  and  left  his  charge 
to  get  by  the  guards  as  best  they  could.  At  this  Lane  said  to 
Robinson,  "  Hurry  up,  this  means  assassination ;  they  mean 
to  kill  us,"  and  started  his  horse  upon  the  run.  Franklin  is 
situated  on  the  old  California  road,  and  the  first  valley  west 
of  it  is  the  place  where  the  ox  had  its  leg  twisted  on  Sunday 
in  1849,  and  brought  on  the  lively  discussion  of  the  Sabbath 
question.  Deep  gullies  had  been  washed  in  the  road  at  this 
point,  causing  travellers  to  turn  sharply  to  the  right  to  avoid 
them.  As  Robinson  was  on  the  left,  his  horse  ran  into  one 
of  these  gullies,  while  Lane's  escaped.  The  horse  fell  with 
great  force,  and  for  some  minutes  was  unable  to  rise.  No 
damage,  however,  was  done,  except  the  delay.  This  valley 
is  undoubtedly  an  unfortunate  place.  In  1856  a  Free-State 
man  was  killed  near  it,  and  Franklin  has  perished  from  off 
the  face  of  the  earth.  The  night  after  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  of  peace,  and  after  all  had  retired  at  headquarters  upon 
benches  and  on  the  floor,  a  guard  reported  that  three  men 
had  driven  some  women  out  of  a  cabin  east  of  town  and 
taken  possession,  and  he  desired  to  know  what  should  be 
done  ?  All  in  the  room  heard  the  report,  but  all  pretended 
to  be  in  a  sound  sleep,  including  the  officer  of  the  day,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  attend  to  the  matter.  After  some  minutes 


206  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Deitzler,  who  was  adjutant-general,  jumped  up  and  said, 
"  Damn  a  paper  hero ;  who  will  go  with  me  and  bring  them 
in  ?  "  In  due  time  he  brought  in  three  heavily  armed  men, 
who  claimed  that  in  the  darkness  and  sleet  they  had  lost 
their  way.  In  the  morning,  as  the  war  was  over,  they  were 
allowed  to  go.  It  is  not  doubted  but  these  men  were  out 
for  the  purpose  of  killing  the  guests  of  the  Governor  and  of 
the  captains  of  militia.  On  the  next  day  after  peace  was 
declared,  Governor  Shannon  dismissed  his  militia  and  re- 
turned to  Lawrence,  where  he  expressed  great  satisfaction  at 
the  termination  of  the  war.  While  being  entertained  by  the 
citizens  of  both  sexes,  an  alarm  was  raised  that  the  disbanded 
forces  were  marching  upon  Lawrence,  when  the  Governor 
gave  this  authority  to  Robinson  and  Lane : 

"  To  Charles  Robinson  and  J.  H.  Lane  : 

"  You  are  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  take  such  measures,  and 
use  the  enrolled  forces  under  your  command  in  such  manner,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  peace  and  the  protection  of  the  persons  and  property 
of  the  people  of  Lawrence  and  vicinity,  as  in  your  judgment  shall  best 
secure  that  end. 

(Signed)  "  WILSON  SHANNON. 

"  LAWRENCE,  December  9,  1855." 

However,  on  investigation,  the  rumor  proved  to  be  un- 
founded, the  militia  having  left  the  Territory  by  the  most 
direct  route. 

Such  was  the  general  rejoicing  at  Lawrence  that  a  peace 
jubilee  was  held  on  the  loth,  to  which  the  Governor  and 
other  officials  were  invited,  including  Sheriff  Jones.  The 
Governor  excused  himself,  but  Jones  attended.  Several 
speeches  were  made,  and  all  would  have  passed  off  pleasantly 
had  it  not  been  for  an  attempt  to  excite  hostility  to  Jones 
to  such  a  degree  as  to  require  the  utmost  exertion  and  care 
to  prevent  his  assassination. 

This  is  but  a  mere  outline  of  the  Wakarusa  war,  so-called, 
as  conducted  by  the  Free-State  party.  Governor  Shannon, 
in  his  testimony,  said  that  "the  posse  was  over  1400,  as  re- 


POSITION    OF    LANE    AND    BROWN.  207 

ported  to  me  by  General  Strickler,  and  I  suppose  there  were 
about  five  hundred  that  had  never  organized  themselves,  or 
been  placed  under  the  Sheriff." 

James  F.  Legate  testified  that  Jones  told  him  not  over  two 
hundred  men  in  the  posse  were  residents  of  the  Territory, 
while  the  remainder  were  from  Missouri.  While  some  regard 
the  result  as  the  greatest  victory,  under  all  the  circumstances, 
that  could  have  been  achieved,  others  call  it  a  cowardly  sur- 
render and  disastrous  defeat.  Such  persons  single  out  two 
men,  Lane  and  Brown,  and  claim  that  their  policy,  if  adopted, 
would  have  changed  defeat  to  victory.  They  proposed  to  take 
the  offensive  against  Federal  authority  instead  of  a  defen- 
sive position.  Colonel  Lane  one  night  was  reported  to  head- 
quarters as  about  starting  to  attack  the  militia,  and  doubtless 
would  have  done  so  had  he  not  been  threatened  with  arrest. 
John  Brown,  although  he  did  not  arrive  till  after  the  negotia- 
tions for  peace  had  commenced,  also  proposed  the  same 
course.  Lane  also  tried  his  best  to  procure  the  killing  of 
Jones  at  the  peace  party,  which,  of  course,  had  he  been  suc- 
cessful, would  have  opened  the  war  in  earnest,  as  the  retiring 
disbanded  posse  or  militia  wanted  no  better  excuse  to  attack 
the  town.  Mrs.  Ropes,  who  was  at  the  peace  party,  in  her 
"  Six  Months  in  Kansas,"  page  143,  referring  to  this  matter, 
says : 

"  It  seemed  that  some  of  the  hotel  crowd  were  not  ready  to  give  up 
the  war  spirit,  and  accept  with  grace  the  peace-offering  of  social  inter- 
course offered  *  *  *  to  those  who  had  arrayed  themselves  so  cruelly 
against  us.  And,  although  Sheriff  Jones  was  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  an  officer,  acting  under  his  oath  of  office,  he  became  an  apple  of 
discord,  because  he  was  the  only  representative  of  Missouri.  I  have  to 
confess  to  a  feeling  of  mortification  that  everybody  could  not  at  once 
bridge  over  the  rapid  current' sweeping  between  these  two  contending 
parties,  and  let  '  by-gones  be  by-gones.'  But  perhaps  this  feeling  came 
to  the  surface  because  I  had  not  entered  into  the  atmosphere  of  blood- 
shed, and  had  not  made  the  creation  of  '  cartridges  '  the  occupation  of 
my  leisure  hours.  Colonel  Lane's  voice  could  be  heard  in  different 
rooms,  detailing  to  eager  listeners  the  most  painful  circumstances  of 
poor  Barber's  death,  and,  with  wonderful  ingeniousness,  keeping  up 


208  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  wicked  spirit  of  vengeance  among  those  over  whom  he  exercised  any 
power.  What  on  earth  he  was  driving  at  by  such  a  course,  it  seemed 
to  my  stupid  self  quite  impossible  to  understand ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  I  knew  very  well  that  he  aimed  at  something  he  could  not  other- 
wise attain  so  well.  Any  reader  of  human  faces  can  never  study  his 
without  a  sensation  very  much  like  that  with  which  one  stands  at  the 
edge  of  a  slimy,  sedgy,  uncertain  morass.  If  there  is  any  good  in  him, 
T  never,  with  all  my  industry  in  culling  something  pleasant  from  the 
most  unpropitious  characters,  have  been  able  to  make  the  discovery. 
And  he  has  not,  in  lieu  of  anything  better,  that  agreeable  fascination  of 
manner  which  so  often  gives  currency  in  society  to  men  as  hollow- 
hearted  as  he.  General  Robinson  stood  like  an  aggrieved  king.  He 
not  only  stemmed  the  tide,  but  rolled  back  the  surging  emotions  of  the 
crowd ;  and  the  meeting  closed  much  more  like  a  gathering  of  peace 
than  at  one  time  seemed  likely." 

Mrs.  Robinson,  who  was  also  present,  in  her  "  Kansas," 
page  155,  says: 

"  Governor  Shannon  did  not  stay  to  the  '  party.' .  When  the  morning 
came  he  found  his  business  required  his  attention  at  the  mission,  and 
he  went  on  his  way.  But  '  Sheriff  Jones  '  was  there,  and  there  were 
some  there  beside  who  did  not  cherish  that  spirit  of  forgiveness  and 
conciliation  which  makes  man  magnanimous  in  the  treatment  of  an  en- 
emy ;  and  the  General's  party  at  one  time  came  near  proving  anything 
but  a  '  peace  party.'  There  was  a  spirit  there  full  of  ambition,  and  a 
desire  for  office.  And  while  the  murder  of  young  Barber  was  fresh  in 
the  minds  of  his  friends ;  while  the  voice  of  poor,  weak  human  nature 
would  say  revenge  if  the  right  cord  was  touched ;  and  while  '  Sheriff 
Jones,'  an  officer  of  the  Territorial  courts,  was  an  invited  guest  of  Gen- 
eral Robinson,  and  political  capital  could  be  made  ;  with  what  wonderful 
ingenuity  it  wrought  to  keep  alive  this  spirit  of  revenge  in  their  breasts ! 
The  object  was  evident  to  all,  and  the  indignation  of  many  was  hardly 
kept  within  bounds.  The  event,  however,  proved  but  another  instance 
of  the  evil,  which  was  intended  for  another,  recoiling  upon  one's  own 
head." 

With  reference  to  John  Brown's  course,  James  Redpath, 
in  his  "  Life  of  Captain  John  Brown,"  on  page  92,  quotes 
approvingly  a  correspondence  in  the  New  York  Herald,  as 
follows : 

"  After  Governor  Robinson  had  stated  to  the  people  who  were  gath- 
ered around  the  hotel  the  terms  of  the  peace,  Brown  took  the  stand 


THE    VICTORY.  209 

uninvited,  and  opposed  the  terms  of  the  treaty.  He  was  in  favor  of 
ignoring  all  treaties,  and  such  leading  men  as  Robinson,  Lane,  etc., 
and,  proceeding  at  once  against  the  border-ruffian  invaders,  drive  them 
from  the  soil,  or  hang  them  if  taken.  The  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
of  Safety  ordered  Brown  under  arrest." 

Here  is  the  position  taken  by  the  Free-State  men,  desig- 
nated by  F.  B.  Sanborn  as  "dastards,"  and  the  position 
tried  to  be  taken  by  the  two  "  indispensable  "  heroes  of  that 
gentleman,  and  the  reader  can  take  his  choice.  It  is  not 
easy  to  conjecture  what  greater  victory  the  Free-State  men 
could  gain,  or  what  greater  defeat  the  pro-slavery  men  could 
suffer,  than  to  have  1900  men  march  from  forty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  to  serve  a  warrant  issued  by  a  justice  of 
the  peace  and  then  return,  after  cursing,  swearing,  shivering 
and  freezing  for  two  weeks,  as  they  came,  minus  the  whiskey, 
without  serving  any  process  whatever,  legal  or  otherwise.  If 
a  more  brilliant  victory  has  ever  been  gained,  it  has  not  been 
recorded.  How  many  such  defeats  could  the  Administra- 
tion afford  in  enforcing  "popular  sovereignty "  where  the 
people  were  to  be  left  perfectly  free  to  settle  their  institutions 
in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  1 

And  what  of  the  Free-State  men  called  "  dastards,"  who 
obeyed  orders  and  suffered  wrong  without  doing  wrong  ?  It 
is  safe  to  say  an  equal  number  of  men,  with  a  more  unflinch- 
ing courage,  both  moral  and  physical,  has  not  been  seen 
since  the  days  of  the  Revolution.  A  coward  can  give  blow 
for  blow,  eye  for  eye,  and  tooth  for  tooth,  but  it  requires 
true  courage  to  suffer  wrong  without  retaliation  that  a  great 
cause  may  be  advanced.  The  Free-State  men  believed  that 
every  outrage  inflicted  strengthened  their  cause  and  corre- 
spondingly weakened  that  of  their  opponents ;  that  in  their 
sufferings  lay  their  strength.  In  this  respect  the  Wakarusa 
war,  while  causing  great  annoyance  and  suffering,  had  en- 
listed the  sympathies  and  support  of  the  civilized  world. 

The  conclusion  of  this  campaign  was  the  funeral  of  Bar- 

14 


210  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ber,  who  was  at  first  temporarily  buried.  This  funeral  was 
attended  by  all  the  military  companies  accessible,  and  was 
most  solemn  and  impressive.  As  the  remarks  of  Dr.  Robin- 
son present  the  issue  of  the  war,  placing  the  responsibility 
where  it  belonged,  in  his  estimation,  they  are  here  given  as 
published  in  the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  December  22,  1855  : 
"THE  BURIAL  OF  MR.  BARBER. 

"  General  Robinson  read  a  eulogy  upon  Mr.  B.'s  life  and  character. 
We.  extract  the  following : 

"  '  The  occasion  which  calls  us  together  is  one  of  deep  interest  and 
peculiar  significance  to  every  patriot  and  Republican. 

"  '  Our  Territory  has  been  repeatedly  invaded,  and  our  dearest  rights 
trampled  upon,  by  the  citizens  of  a  foreign  State.  They  have  taken 
possession  of  our  ballot-boxes,  and  by  force  of  arms  have  wrested  from 
us  the  right  to  make  our  own  laws  and  choose  our  own  rulers,  and  im- 
posed upon  us  a  system  of  laws  uncongenial  to  our  natures  and  wants. 
Having  accomplished  all  this  by  invasion  and  outrage,  it  was  but  natural 
to  suppose  that  invasion  and  outrage  would  be  necessary  to  enforce  their 
enactments.  "  Misunderstanding"  the  facts  and  the  temper  of  the  peo- 
ple as  well  as  their  tactics,  the  Executive  recently  gave  the  signal  for 
another  invasion,  and  the  armed  hordes  responded.  Our  citizens  have 
been  besieged,  robbed,  insulted,  and  murdered ;  and  our  town  threatened 
with  destruction  for  two  whole  weeks,  by  the  authority  of  the  Executive, 
and,  as  he  now  says,  in  consequence  of  a  "misunderstanding."  A 
misunderstanding  on  the  part  of  an  Executive  is  a  most  unfortunate 
affair. 

"  '  Our  Governor  having  been  told  that  the  people  of  Kansas  did 
not  recognize  the  laws  of  Missouri,  and  were  determined  these  laws 
should  be  a  dead  letter  in  the  Territory,  unwittingly  fell  into  the  error 
of  supposing  the  people  would  array  themselves  against  the  ( 'lovernment 
of  the  United  States,  evidently  not  understanding  how  a  code  of  enact- 
ments can  be  effectually  resisted  and  no  law  violated.  Had  he  carefully 
read  the  early  history  of  his  country,  he  might  have  understood  the 
"  Sons  of  Liberty  "  better  than  to  suppose  any  United  States  law  would 
be  violated  by  the  people,  or,  if  violated,  that  the  community  would  be 
guilty  of  violating  it. 

"  '  By  whose  act  do  the  remains  of  the  lamented  Thomas  Barber  now 
await  interment  at  our  hands?  By  whose  hand  is  his  wife  made  a 
widow?  By  whose  instrumentality  are  we  made  to  mourn  the  untimely 
fall  of  a  brave  comrade  and  worthy  citizen?  Report  says  Thomas  Mar 
ber  was  murdered  in  cold  blood  by  an  officer  or  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment, who  was  a  member  of  the  Sheriff's  posse,  which  was  commanded 


BURIAL    OF    BARBER.  2H 

by  the  Governor,  who  is  backed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
Was  Thomas  Barber  murdered?  Then  are  the  men  who  killed  him, 
and  the  officials  by  whose  authority  they  acted,  his  murderers.  And  if 
the  laws  are  to  be  enforced,  then  will  the  Indian  Agent,  the  Governor, 
and  the  President  be  convicted  of,  and  punished  for,  murder.  There 
is  work  enough  for  the  "  law  and  order  "  men  to  do,  and  let  us  hear  no 
more  about  resistance  to  the  laws  till  this  work  is  done.  If  all  Missouri 
must  be  aroused  and  the  whole  nation  convulsed  to  serve  a  peace  war- 
rant on  an  unoffending  citizen,  may  we  not  expect  some  slight  effort 
will  be  made  to  bring  these  capital  offenders  to  justice?  Or  are  our 
laws  made  for  the  low,  and  not  the  high — for  the  poor,  and  not  the  rich  ? 
"  '  For  the  dead  we  need  not  mourn.  He  fell  a  martyr  to  principle ; 
and  his  blood  will  nourish  the  tree  of  liberty.  An  honorable  death  is 
preferable  to  a  dishonorable  and  inglorious  life.  Such  was  the  death  of 
our  brother,  and  as  such  he  will  ever  be  cherished  by  his  companions 
and  fellow-citizens.  It  is  glory  enough  for  any  man  that  a  body  of 
men  like  the  Barber  Guards  should  adopt  his  name  to  designate  and 
distinguish  their  company. 

'  To  his  beloved  and  bereaved  wife,  to  his  brothers  and  relatives, 
to  the  members  of  his  company,  to  all  who  have  pledged  property, 
honor,  and  life  to  the  cause  of  freedom  and  humanity,  I  seem  to  hear 
the  spirit  of  our  departed  brother  say,  "  Be  of  good  cheer;  weep  not 
for  me ;  you  are  engaged  in  a  good  work,  and  your  reward  will  be  glo- 
rious. Death  is  no  misfortune  to  the  true ;  indeed,  it  is  sweet  to  die 
in  defense  of  liberty." 

'  '  But  the  shock  produced  by  the  murder  of  our  friend  is  felt  beyond 
the  circle  of  his  immediate  relations  and  friends.  It  has  shaken  the 
entire  fabric  of  our  Government  to  its  very  base,  and  nothing  but  the 
unseen  hand  of  the  All-Wise  Governor  of  the  Universe  could  have  saved 
this  nation  from  civil  war  and  political  death. 

'  '  It  is  due  to  the  bold  stand  taken  by  the  freemen  of  Kansas  dur- 
ing the  late  invasion  that  the  sun  of  Liberty  is  still  above  the  horizon ; 
and  cold  indeed  must  be  his  heart,  wherever  found,  that  does  not  beat 
in  unison  with  ours  as  we  pay  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  the  remains 
of  our  brother!  Can  the  people  of  this  nation  approve  the 

'  '  Costly  mockery  of  piling  stone  on  stone? 

To  those  who  won  our  liberty,  the  heroes  dead  and  gone, 
\\  liile  we  look  coldly  on,  and  see  law-shielded  ruffians  slay 
The  men  who  fain  would  win  their  own,  the  heroes  of  to-day? 

'"  No! 

'  '  Be  callous  as  they  will, 
From  soul  to  soul,  o'er  all  the  world, 
Leaps  one  electric  thrill.'  " 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RESULTS   OF   THE    WAKARUSA    WAR. A    CONGRESSIONAL 

INVESTIGATION. 

As  the  "smoke  of  battle"  cleared  away,  an  opportunity 
was  offered  to  take  a  calm  and  unbiased  survey  of  the  field 
and  ascertain  the  gain  or  loss  to  the  respective  parties. 

One  item  on  the  side  of  gain  was  the  opening  of  the  eyes 
of  the  Governor  to  the  character  both  of  the  Free-State  and 
of  the  pro-slavery  men.  He  had  heard  nothing  but  evil  of 
the  one,  and  nothing  but  good  of  the  other.  The  Free- 
State  men  in  his  estimation  were  a  set  of  anarchists,  made 
up  of  the  off  scouring  of  the  land,  ready  to  overthrow  any 
and  all  government  that  might  stand  in  their  way,  while  their 
antagonists  were  but  little,  if  any,  lower  than  the  angels.  He 
undoubtedly  modified  both  these  opinions.  Also  he  had 
learned  that  the  Free-State  men  were  under  complete  con- 
trol, and  that  no  outrage,  however  aggravating,  could  discon- 
cert them  or  drive  them  to  take  a  false  or  untenable  position. 
On  the  contrary,  the  pro-slavery  men  were  desperate  and 
ungovernable  characters,  determined  to  accomplish  their  pur- 
poses though  the  Government  and  the  heavens  should  fall. 

Another  item  of  gain  was  that  the  Governer  lost  faith  in 
his  militia  as  a  posse  contitatns.  Before  the  "war"  he  was 
self-confident  and  self-sufficient.  On  the  28th  of  November 
he  wrote  the  President : 

"  *  *  *  Under  these  circumstances  the  Sheriff  of  the  county  has 
called  on  me  for  three  thousand  men  to  aid  him  in  the  execution  of  the 
warrants  in  his  hands,  and  to  protect  him  and  his  prisoner  from  the 
violence  of  this  armed  force.  The  force  required  by  the  Sheriff  is  far 
beyond  what  I  believe  to  be  necessary,  and  indeed  far  beyond  what 
could  be  raised  in  this  Territory.  Frona  five  to  eight  hundred  men  will 


GOVERNOR    SHANNON    BEFORE    THE    WAR.  213 

be  amply  sufficient,  I  have  no  doubt,  to  protect  the  Sheriff,  and  enable 
him  to  execute  the  legal  process  in  his  hands.     *     *     * 

"  The  time  has  come  when  this  armed  band  of  men,  who  are  seek- 
ing to  subvert  and  render  powerless  the  existing  government,  have  to 
be  met  and  the  laws  enforced  against  them,  or  submit  to  their  lawless 
dominion.  If  the  lives  and  property  of  unoffending  citizens  of  this 
Territory  cannot  be  protected  by  law,  there  is  an  end  to  practical  gov- 
ernment, and  it  becomes  a  useless  formality. 

"  The  excitement  along  the  border  of  Missouri  is  running  wild,  and 
nothing  but  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  against  these  men  will  allay  it. 
Since  the  disclosure  of  the  existence  and  purpose  of  this  secret  military 
organization  in  this  Territory,  there  has  been  much  excitement  along 
the  borders  of  Missouri,  but  it  has  been  held  in  check  heretofore  by 
assurances  that  the  laws  of  the  Territory  would  be  enforced,  and  that 
protection  would  be  given  to  the  citizens  against  all  unlawful  acts  of 
this  association.  This  feeling  and  intense  excitement  can  still  be  held 
in  subordination  if  the  laws  are  faithfully  executed ;  otherwise  there  is 
no  power  here  that  can  control  this  border  excitement,  and  civil  war  is 
inevitable.  This  military  organization  is  looked  upon  as  hostile  to  all 
Southern  men,  or,  rather,  to  the  law  and  order  party  of  the  Territory, 
many  of  whom  have  relations  and  friends,  and  all  have  sympathizers  in 
Missouri,  and  the  moment  it  is  believed  that  the  laws  will  not  furnish 
adequate  protection  to  this  class  of  citizens  against  the  lawless  acts  of 
this  armed  association,  a  force  will  be  precipitated  across  the  line  to 
redress  real  and  supposed  wrongs  inflicted  on  friends  that  cannot  be 
Controlled,  or  for  the  moment  resisted.  It  is  in  vain  to  conceal  the 
fact :  we  are  standing  on  a  volcano,  the  upheavings  and  agitations  be- 
neath we  feel,  and  no  one  can  tell  the  hour  when  an  eruption  may  take 
place.  Under  existing  circumstances  the  importance  of  sustaining  the 
Sheriff  of  Douglas  County,  and  enabling  him  to  execute  his  process, 
independent  of  other  considerations  connected  with  the  peace  and  good 
order  of  society,  will  strike  you  at  once ;  and  to  do  this  by  the  aid  and 
assistance  of  the  citizens  of  this  Territory  is  the  great  object  to  be  ac- 
complished, to  avoid  the  dreadful  evils  of  civil  war.  I  believe  this  can 
be  done ;  in  this,  however,  I  may  be  mistaken.  No  efforts  shall  be 
wanting  on  my  part  to  preserve  good  order  in  the  Territory,  and  I  will 
keep  you  constantly  advised  of  the  progress  and  state  of  things  here. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

"WILSON  SHANNON. 

"His  Excellency,  Franklin  Pierce." 

But  after  the  "  war  "  his  tune  was  pitched  in  another  key, 
and  he  wrote  the  President,  December  n,  1855,  as  follows: 


214  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  EXECUTIVE   OFFICE,    SIIAWNEE  MISSION, 

KANSAS  TERRITORY,  December  n,  1855. 

"  SIR:  In  my  dispatch  to  you  of  the  28th  ultimo,  I  advised  you  of 
the  threatened  difficulties  in  relation  to  the  execution  of  the  laws  of  this 
Territory  in  Douglas  County.  The  excitement  which  then  exited  con- 
tinued to  increase,  owing  to  the  aggravated  reports  from  Lawrence  and 
that  vicinity  in  relation  to  the  military  preparations  that  were  being 
made  to  attack  the  Sheriff  and  resist  the  execution  of  the  law.  The 
excitement  increased  and  spread,  not  only  throughout  this  whole  Terri- 
tory, but  was  worked  up  to  the  utmost  point  of  intensity  in  the  whole 
of  the  upper  portion  of  Missouri.  Armed  men  were  seen  rushing  from 
all  quarters  towards  Lawrence,  some  to  defend  the  place,  and  others  to 
demolish  it.  The  orders  I  had  issued  to  Major-General  Richardson 
and  General  Strickler  had  brought  to  the  Sheriff  of  Douglas  County  a 
very  inadequate  force  for  his  protection,  when  compared  with  the  forces 
in  the  town  of  Lawrence.  Indeed,  the  militia  of  the  Territory  being 
wholly  unorganized,  no  forces  could  be  obtained  except  those  who  vol- 
untarily tendered  their  aid  to  the  Sheriff,  or  to  Generals  Richardson 
and  Strickler.  The  whole  force  in  the  Territory  thus  obtained  did  not 
amount  to  more  than  three  or  four  hundred  men,  badly  armed,  and 
wholly  unprepared  to  resist  the  forces  in  Lawrence,  which  amounted 
at  that  time  to  some  six  hundred  men  ;  all  remarkably  well  armed  with 
Sharp's  rifles  and  other  weapons.  These  facts  becoming  known  across 
the  line,  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  large  numbers  of  men  from  that  State, 
in  irregular  bodies,  rushed  to  the  County  of  Douglas,  and  many  of  them 
enrolled  themselves  in  the  Sheriff's  posse.  In  this  state  of  affairs,  I 
saw  no  way  of  avoiding  a  deadly  conflict  but  to  obtain  the  use  of  the 
United  States  forces  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  and  with  that  view  I  ad- 
dressed you  a  telegraphic  dispatch,  and  received  on  the  5th  instant  your 
very  prompt  and  satisfactory  reply  of  the  4th  instant,  a  copy  of  which 
I  immediately  transmitted,  by  special  dispatch,  to  Colonel  Sunnier,  with 
the  request  that  he  would  accompany  me  with  his  command  to  the  scene 
of  difficulty.  In  reply,  I  was  informed  he  would  immediately  do  so, 
having  no  doubt  that  in  due  time  proper  instructions  would  be  received 
from  the  War  Department.  Information,  however,  which  I  received 
from  both  parties  convinced  me  that  my  prr.-cmv  was  necessary  to 
avoid  a  conflict,  and  without  waiting  for  Colonel  Sumner,  I  repaired  to 
the  seat  of  threatened  hostilities,  at  the  same  time  advising  Colonel 
Sumner,  by  special  dispatch,  of  this  movement.  On  my  way  to  Law- 
rence, I  met  a  dispatch  from  Colonel  Sumner,  informing  me  that,  upon 
reflection,  he  had  changed  his  determination,  and  that  he  would  not 
march  with  his  command  until  he  had  received  orders  from  the  proper 
department,  but  that  he  would  be  ready  to  move  with  his  command  the 
moment  such  orders  came  to  hand.  I  proceeded  as  rapidly  as  possible 


GOVERNOR    SHANNON    AFTER    THE    WAR.  215 

to  the  camp  of  General  Strickler,  on  the  Wakarusa,  six  miles  east  of 
Lawrence,  and  arrived  in  camp  about  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  6th  instant.  I  found  General  Strickler,  as  well  as  General  Richard- 
son, had  very  judiciously  adopted  the  policy  of  incorporating  into  their 
respective  commands  all  the  irregular  forces  that  had  arrived.  This 
was  done  with  the  view  of  subjecting  them  to  military  orders  and  dis- 
cipline, and  to  prevent  any  unlawful  acts  or  outbreaks.  The  great 
danger  to  be  apprehended  was  from  an  unauthorized  attack  on  the  town 
of  Lawrence,  which  was  being  strongly  fortified,  and  had  about  one 
thousand  and  fifty  men  well  armed  to  defend  it,  with  two  pieces  of 
artillery,  while  on  the  other  side  there  was  probably  in  all  nearly  two 
thousand  men,  many  of  them  indifferently  armed,  but  having  a  strong 
park  of  artillery.  I  found  in  the  camp  at  Wakarusa  a  deep  and  settled 
feeling  of  hostility  against  the  opposing  forces  in  Lawrence,  and  appar- 
ently a  fixed  determination  to  attack  that  place  and  demolish  it  and  the 
presses,  and  take  possession  of  their  arms.  It  seemed  to  be  a  universal 
opinion  in  the  camp  that  there  was  no  safety  to  the  law  and  order  party 
in  the  Territory  while  the  other  party  were  permitted  to  retain  their 
Sharp's  rifles,  an  instrument  used  only  for  war  purposes.  After  min- 
gling with  all  the  leading  men  in  the  Wakarusa  camp,  and  urging  on 
them  the  importance  of  avoiding  a  conflict  of  arms,  that  such  a  step 
would  light  the  torch  of  civil  war  and  endanger  the  very  Union  itself,  I 
still  found  that  there  was  a  strong  desire  with  all,  and  a  fixed  determina- 
tion with  many,  to  compel  the  forces  in  Lawrence  to  give  up  their  arms. 
Believing  that  such  a  demand  would  lead  to  a  conflict  which,  if  once 
commenced,  no  one  could  tell  where  it  would  end,  and  seeing  no  way 
to  avoid  it  except  by  the  aid  of  the  United  States  forces,  I  again  wrote 
another  communication  to  Colonel  Sumner,  and  sent  it  to  him  by  special 
dispatch  about  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  yth  instant,  request- 
ing his  presence ;  a  copy  of  which  I  send  you  herewith,  marked  E.  I 
received  no  reply  until  my  return  to  this  place,  after  the  difficulty  had 
been  arranged.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  this  reply,  marked  F.  Early  on 
the  morning  of  the  7th  instant  I  repaired  to  the  camp  at  Lawrence, 
and  found  them  busily  engaged  in  their  fortifications  and  in  drilling 
their  forces,  and  had  a  full  and  satisfactory  interview  with  the  commit- 
tee appointed  by  the  forces  in  Lawrence,  in  relation  to  the  impending 
difficulties.  *  *  * 

"  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  through  the  influence  of  some 
leading  men,  I  procured  thirteen  of  the  leading  captains  in  the  Wakarusa 
camp  to  be  appointed  a  committee  to  confer  with  a  committee  from  the 
Lawrence  camp,  to  meet  at  Franklin,  midway  between  the  two  hostile 
forces.  I  proceeded  to  the  Lawrence  camp,  and  returned  to  Franklin 
in  the  evening  with  the  committee,  where  the  proposed  interview  took 
place.  This  interview,  which  lasted  for  some  time,  resulted  in  produc- 


2l6  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ing  a  better  state  of  feeling,  and  the  committee  from  Wakarusa  camp 
were  satisfied  to  retire  without  doing  anything  more,  and  so  reported  to 
the  army.  This,  with  the  active  exertions  of  myself  and  others,  pro- 
duced a  better  feeling  among  the  men,  and  by  daylight  on  the  morning 
of  the  Qth  I  felt  I  could  with  safety  order  the  forces  to  disband,  and 
accordingly  did  so.  They  retired  in  order,  and  refrained  from  any  act 
of  violence,  but  it  was  evident  there  was  a  silent  dissatisfaction  at  the 
course  I  had  taken.  But  I  felt  conscious  I  was  right,  and  that  my 
course  would  be  sanctioned  alike  by  the  dictates  of  humanity  and  sound 
policy.  I  returned  to  Lawrence  on  the  gih,  remained  until  the  morning 
of  the  loth,  when,  everything  being  quiet  and  safe,  I  returned  to  this 
place.  Everything  is  quiet  now ;  but  it  is  my  duty  to  say  to  you, 
frankly,  that  I  have  forebodings  as  to  the  future.  The  militia  or  volun- 
teer corps  cannot  be  relied  on  to  preserve  the  peace  in  these  civil  party 
contests,  or  where  partisans  are  concerned.  ?V  call  on  the  militia  will 
generally  only  bring  in  conflict  the  two  parties.  I  am  satisfied  that  the 
only  forces  that  can  be  used  in  this  Territory  in  enforcing  the  laws,  or 
preserving  the  peace,  are  those  of  the  United  States,  and  with  this 
view  I  would  suggest  that  the  Executive  of  this  Territory  be  authorized 
to  call  on  the  forces  of  the  United  States  when,  in  his  judgment,  the 
public  peace  and  tranquillity,  or  the  execution  of  the  laws,  may  require 
their  assistance.  Should  there  be  an  outbreak,  it  will  most  probably  be 
sudden,  and  before  orders  can  be  obtained  from  Washington  the  crisis 
will  have  passed.  I  send  you  herewith  the  copies  of  various  affidavits, 
letters,  etc.,  which  will  give  you  some  information  in  detail  touching 
the  subject-matter  of  this  dispatch. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  WILSON  SHANNON. 
lt His  Excellency,  Franklin  Pierce.'1'' 

One  item  gained  to  the  Free-State  men  was  a  knowledge 
of  some  of  their  own  men.  While  the  policy  of  the  party 
was  distinctly  outlined  by  the  Committee  of  Safety  and  Coun- 
cil, two  men  of  influence  proved  disloyal  to  that  policy.  ( \.  I'. 
Lowry,  in  his  testimony  before  the  Congressional  Commit- 
tee, as  reported  on  page  1081,  said:  "My  impression  is, 
that  a  conspiracy  of  one  hundred  men,  to  leave  here  (Law- 
rence) without  orders  and  attack  the  camp  on  the  Wakarusa, 
was  found  out  shortly  after  Barber  was  killed,  and  put  down 
by  General  Robinson." 

It  was  thought  best  at  the  time,  and  even  when  the  Con- 
gressional Committee  visited  the  Territory,  in  1856,  to  say 


RESULTS    OF    THE    WAR.  217 

but  little  about  this  movement  or  "  conspiracy,"  and  particu- 
larly of  its  prime  mover,  but  Lowry,  being  on  the  general's 
staff,  knew  all  about  it,  and  that  Colonel  Lane  was  the  insti- 
gator. Colonel  Lane  in  this  move  was  to  the  Kansas  war 
what  Captain  Maloney  was  to  the  Sacramento  riot  when 
about  to  order  an  attack  upon  a  private  residence,  with  this 
difference,  that  Maloney  was  in  supreme  command  while 
Lane  was  not.  There  has  always  been  a  question  as  to  the 
motive  that  actuated  Lane.  It  was  well  known  to  the  lead- 
ing Free-State  men  that  at  heart  he  preferred  a  slave  State ; 
tried  to  buy  a  slave ;  said  in  his  first  public  speech  at  Law- 
rence he  had  as  soon  buy  a  "  nigger  "  as  a  mule  ;  recognized 
the  Territorial  Legislature  as  a  legal  body,  and  only  consented 
to  enlist  in  the  Free-State  constitutional  movement  when 
promised  the  support  of  the  party  for  Senator.  He  was 
always  on  intimate  terms  with  some  of  the  pro-slavery  lead- 
ers, and  during  the  "  war  "  had  General  Richardson  and  staff 
dine  with  him  by  invitation,  when  their  forces  were  laying 
siege  to  the  town  and  killed  Barber.  Whether  he  designed 
to  change  the  position  from  one  of  defense  to  one  of  offense, 
and  thus  bring  ruin  upon  the  Free-State  cause,  or  whether 
he  wanted  to  court  favor  with  inconsiderate  and  exas- 
perated men  to  secure  a  little  political  prestige,  may  never 
be  known.  Fortunately  for  the  Free-State  cause  he  was  so 
well  understood,  and  his  loyalty  so  questioned,  that  he  was 
never  implicitly  trusted,  and  hence  could  not  betray  the 
cause  if  he  should  attempt  it.  John  Brown  proclaimed  his 
position  most  emphatically  as  an  enemy  to  both  territorial 
and  national  government,  but  was  able  to  mislead  no  party 
and  but  few  individuals. 

Nothing  so  disappointed  the  pro-slavery  men  as  the  fact 
that  they  could  not  get  the  Free-State  men  in  collision  with 
Federal  authority.  They  had  organized  as  an  army  with  all 
the  "  circumstance  of  war,"  and  one  thing  only  was  wanting 
to  constitute  treason,  namely,  that  this  war  should  be  levied 
against  the  United  States.  Had  the  Slave-State  men  sue- 


2l8  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ceeded  in  their  design,  the  indictments  for  treason  found  the 
next  spring  would  not  have  been  the  burlesque  they  proved. 
Then  convictions  and  executions  would  have  followed  with 
the  same  alacrity  as  against  the  Harper's  Ferry  raiders,  and 
with  the  approval  of  the  entire  nation,  with  scarcely  an 
exception.  The  Free-State  cause  would  have  been  blotted 
out  as  easily  and  effectually  as  was  the  army  of  twenty-one 
young  men  who  threw  themselves  against  a  United  States 
arsenal  in  1859,  under  the  lead  of  John  Brown,  when  he 
was  generalissimo  and  commander-in-chief  of  his  new  Re- 
public, with  F.  B.  Sanborn,  secretary  of  the  Kansas  Relief 
Committee,  furnishing  the  sinews  of  war  and  out  of  the 
funds  raised,  ostensibly  for  the  relief  of  Kansas. 

Another  item  of  gain  or  loss  in  this  war  was  the  knowl- 
edge the  pro-slavery  men  gained  of  their  antagonists.  The 
despised  New  England  paupers  had  all  at  once  assumed  in 
their  estimation  the  proportions  of  men  of  courage  and  sagac- 
ity, who  could  not  be  annihilated  by  an  oath  or  anathema. 
This  was  of  great  benefit  to  them  and  of  no  detriment  to 
the  Free-State  men.  But  the  greatest  gain  to  the  Free-State 
men,  and  corresponding  loss  to  their  antagonists,  was  the 
record  made  before  the  country.  They  had  demonstrated 
their  courage,  sagacity,  and  loyalty  to  Federal  authority. 
Both  North  and  South  recognized  the  fact  that  the  men 
stigmatized  by  the  border  press  as  paupers  and  hirelings 
were  not  to  be  trifled  with,  and  that  the  Administration, 
even  with  Jeff  Davis  at  the  head  of  the  War  Department, 
had  its  match  in  strategy  and  management  generally.  Also 
the  marching  of  an  army  from  the  State  of  Missouri,  with 
war  equipments  taken  from  a  United  States  arsenal,  to  serve 
a  peace  warrant  in  a  Territory  which  was  to  be  left  perfectly 
free  to  manage  its  own  affairs,  caused  general  indignation  in 
the  Northern  States,  in  some  of  which  resolutions  were 
adopted  announcing  that  if  Kansas  was  to  be  thus  interfered 
with  by  one  State,  all  States  would  take  a  hand  in  the  busi- 
ness, even  though  the  Union  should  go  up  in  smoke.  Neither 


SUMMARY    OF     1855.  219 

was  the  lesson  entirely  lost  upon  the  President,  as  will  later 
appear. 

The  Chicago  Tribune  said :  "  The  Free-State  men  have 
acted  well.  We  like  their  spirit.  It  is  of  the  olden  time 
— cool,  yet  resolved  ;  deliberate,  yet  wisely  courageous." 

The  year  1855  closed  with  a  record  less  bloody  than  its 
successor.  Two  pro-slavery  men  had  been  killed  since  the 
opening  of  Kansas  to  settlement,  namely,  Henry  Davis  on 
November  29,  1854,  and  Malcolm  Clark  on  April  30, 
1855;  and  three  Free-State  men,  C.  W.  Dow,  November 
2ist,  Samuel  Collins  in  November  at  Doniphan.  and  Thomas 
Barber  on  the  6th  of  December,  1855.  Several  men  had 
been  brutally  mobbed,  all  Free-State,  among  them  William 
Phillips  of  Leavenworth,  tarred  and  feathered,  Pardee  But- 
ler of  Atchison  County  sent  down  the  Missouri  on  a  raft, 
and  J.  W.  B.  Kelly,  severely  beaten  at  Atchison. 

Two  elections  for  delegate  to  Congress  had  been  held, 
one  on  the  ist  of  October,  when  General  Whitfield  was 
voted  for  by  the  Slave-State  men,  and  one  on  the  gth  of  the 
same  month,  when  Governor  Reeder  was  voted  for  by  the 
Free-State  men.  Although  there  was  no  conflict,  over  800 
illegal  votes  were  cast  for  Whitfield,  as  estimated  by  the 
Congressional  Committee.  These  elections  paved  the  way 
for  a  contest  in  Congress  which  resulted  in  the  appointment 
of  Howard,  Sherman,  and  Oliver  as  a  committee  to  visit 
Kansas  in  the  spring  of  1856  to  procure  testimony  concern- 
ing the  workings  of  "  popular  sovereignty." 

On  the  1 5th  of  December,  a  few  days  after  the  close  of 
the  Wakarusa  war,  the  election  on  the  adoption  of  the  To- 
peka  Constitution  was  held,  resulting  in  1731  votes  for,  and 
46  votes  against  the  Constitution;  and  1287  against  and 
453  for  free  negroes.  This  vote  on  free  negroes  was  to  be 
construed  as  instructions  to  the  Legislature  to  exclude  them 
from  Kansas  by  law.  If  not  so  excluded  the  constitutional 
provision  would  be  inoperative.  This  little  manoeuvre  was 
to  catch  both  Eastern  and  Western  congressional  votes  for 


22O  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

admission  into  the  Union.  General  Lane  is  entitled  to  full 
credit  for  setting  the  trap.  Besides,  as  a  large  percentage 
of  Free-State  settlers  at  that  time  were  from  black  law 
States,  and  many  even  from  Missouri  and  the  South,  it 
seemed  a  very  expedient  provision,  although  vehemently 
denounced  by  the  no-voting,  no-policy  abolitionists  like 
Charles  Stearns  and  John  Brown. 

On  the  22d  of  December  came  the  convention  for  the 
nomination  of  State  officers  to  be  voted  for  on  the  i5th  of 
January.  At  this  convention  the  Garvey  House  and  all 
other  "  slates  "  were  ignored,  and  a  ticket  selected  of  as  many 
colors,  politically,  as  Joseph's  coat.  Three  candidates  were 
prominent  for  governor — Judge  Smith,  W.  Y.  Roberts,  and 
Colonel  Lane.  The  first  two  claimed  that  each  had  the 
pledge  of  Lane  for  his  support,  when,  to  their  great  discom- 
fort, Lane  himself  was  a  candidate  with  all  the  appliances 
of  which  he  was  master.  As  Lane  distanced  his  other  com- 
petitors on  the  first  heat,  they  were  virtually  out  of  the  race, 
and  as  those  who  were  aware  of  Lane's  career  in  Kansas, 
including  his  attempt  to  take  the  offensive  at  the  late  war, 
did  not  dare  trust  him  at  the  head  of  the  State  movement, 
a  new  man  was  agreed  upon,  namely,  Dr.  Robinson.  This 
name,  of  course,  created  some  friction,  as  it  always  had  and 
probably  always  will.  He  had  voted  in  the  convention  not 
only  for  negro  suffrage,  but  for  woman  suffrage  also,  and 
would  be  a  bitter  pill  for  many  to  swallow.  No  one  knew 
this  better  than  himself,  and  he  would  have  declined  tin- 
nomination,  as  he  would  have  declined  the  conduct  of  the 
late  war,  if  he  could  have  been  assured  that  Lane  would  not 
wreck  the  Free-State  cause.  The  ticket  was  declared  by  a 
few  men  to  be  an  abolition  ticket,  and  a  bolt  was  inaugu- 
rated, resulting  in  the  nomination  of  an  "  anti-abolition  " 
ticket,  although  five  names  were  the  same  on  each. 

The  Free  State,  then  edited  by  Mr.  Elliot,  who  never  did 
like  Robinson  or  the  Aid  Company,  and  who  was  nominated 
for  State  printer  on  the  bolting  ticket,  opposed  the  ticket, 


STATE    OFFICERS    ELECTED.  221 

and  placed  at  its  mast-head  the  bolters'  ticket,  because  the 
first  was  "abolition"  and  the  second  "anti-abolition." 

This  was  too  ridiculous  for  even  Charles  Stearns,  the 
Garrisonian,  and  he  wrote  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  closing  as 
follows : 

"  '  Anti-abolition  ticket,'  forsooth!  Of  course,  then,  Mr.  Elliot,  one 
of  the  principal  supporters  of  the  new  ticket,  must  be  a  strong  anti- 
abolitionist.  Well,  '  the  times  change '  and  men  change  with  them,  I 
suppose ;  but  this  same  Mr.  Elliot,  together  with  myself  and  a  few 
others,  one  year  ago  strongly  condemned  the  leading  nominee  of  what 
Mr.  Elliot  now  terms  the  '  abolition  ticket'  because  he  was  not  aboli- 
tion enough.  The  Free  State  denounced  Dr.  Robinson,  as  well  as  your- 
self, for  taking  '  conservative  ground '  on  the  anti-slavery  question,  and 
supported  one  of  the  nominees  of  the  '  anti-abolition  ticket '  because  he 
was  more  of  an  abolitionist,  or  anti-slavery  man,  than  Dr.  Robinson's 
favorite,  Mr.  Fleniken  ;  but  now  Dr.  Robinson  is  too  much  of  an  aboli- 
tionist for  Mr.  Elliot.  Verily  pro-slavery  has  had  quite  an  effect  upon 
our  former  redoubted  champion  of  undiluted  anti-slavery.  For  my 
part,  I  shall  not  support  the  first  ticket  for  the  reason  that  it  is  not  an 
abolition  ticket,  and  of  course  not  the  second,  because  it  carries  a  lie  on 
the  face  of  it,  as  I  have  above  explained. 

"  Yours  respectfully, 

"  C.  STEARNS." 

Quite  an  effort  was  made  for  the  bolting  ticket,  but  the 
result  showed  for  it  410  votes  to  1296  for  the  other.  This 
was  the  death  and  burial  of  "  anti-abolition  "  or  conserva- 
tism in  Kansas.  From  that  time  nothing  more  was  heard 
of  "  black  law  "  or  "  anti-abolition  "  ;  and  even  Colonel  Lane, 
who  had  been  the  champion  of  this  cause,  became  the  most 
radical  of  radicals,  compelling  the  former  radicals,  like 
Brown,  the  Speers,  Deitzler,  Wood,  Lowry,  Robinson,  and 
others  to  put  on  the  brakes  to  prevent  political  wreck.  At 
this  time  the  correspondents  of  the  Eastern  press  were  dis- 
trustful of  Lane,  and  no  men  were  so  active  and  influential 
in  defeating  his  nomination  for  governor  as  they.  Espe- 
cially Phillips  and  Redpath  were  untiring  in  their  devotion 
to  the  ticket  as  nominated. 

The  Herald  of  Freedom  of  January   19,  1856,  reports  a 


222  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

meeting  at  which  Colonel  Lane  presented  a  platform  of 
principles  diametrically  opposed  to  his  Nebraska  resolution  in 
the  Constitutional  Convention,  and  says  that  all  the  National 
Democrats  endorsed  it.  The  editor  adds  : 

"  Kansas  evidently  is  a  healthy  climate  for  the  mind  as  well  as  body. 
The  sophisms  of  the  South  cannot  live  here.  Lawrence  is  a  pool  of 
Bethesda,  into  which,  if  the  life-long  invalid  step,  he  is  straightway  made 
whole.  Colonel  Lane,  for  example,  who  came  here  with  the  squatter- 
phobia,  of  which  he  had  been  long  and  dangerously  sick — having  been 
bitten  in  Congress  by  Nebraska  bill  itself — and  whose  unfortunate  con- 
stitution withstood  every  effort  of  Eastern  political  physicians  to  cure 
him — is  now  beginning  to  give  evidences  of  speedy  recovery — what  he 
has  hitherto  denied — that  he  was  deceived  in  imagining  that  squatter- 
phobia  is  a  symptom  of  good  health.  We  have  no  doubt,  if  our  people 
take  good  care  of  him,  that  in  less  than  a  year  he  may  be  pronounced 
politically  convalescent.  If  Colonel  Lane  adopts  the  Republican  creed, 
he  will  make  a  valuable  accession  to  the  party.  As  yet,  he  has  not 
done  so ;  but  he  must  do  so  ere  long,  if  he  wishes  to  preserve  a  character 
for  consistency." 

The  winter  of  1855-56  was  one  of  preparation  rather  than 
of  open  demonstration.  It  is  true,  R.  P.  Brown,  of  Leaven- 
worth,  was  most  brutally  murdered,  at  an  election  held  at 
Easton,  by  some  drunken  pro-slavery  men.  Brown  had 
been  prominent  in  the  defense  of  Lawrence,  and  was  one 
of  the  noblest  men  ever  in  Kansas.  He  was  true  as  steel 
and  brave  as  a  lion,  and  hence  was  feared  and  hated  by  his 
opponents  as  were  but  few  others.  His  murder  was  most 
cowardly.  Its  brutality  was  too  much  for  Captain  Martin, 
of  the  Kickapoo  Rangers,  who  was  at  Easton  and  tried  to 
save  Brown  from  his  fate,  but  the  mob  was  too  drunken  and 
desperate  to  heed  him  or  any  one  else.  Nothing  would  answer 
but  his  death,  and  he  fell  a  hero  and  martyr  in  a  noble 
cause. 

Although  on  the  surface  there  was  general  calm,  mutter- 
ings  of  discontent,  dissatisfaction,  and  preparation  were  oc- 
casionally heard,  as  of  distant  thunder  before  a  storm,  during 
the  entire  winter.  Jones  and  the  ultra  Slave-State  men  were 


WINTER    OF    1855-6.  223 

never  satisfied  with  the  outcome  of  the  Wakarusa  war,  and 
openly  declared  that  next  time  they  would  wait  till  Secretary 
Woodson  should  be  acting  governor,  when  they  would  have 
their  own  way. 

The  Squatter  Sovereign  said  : 

"  We  would  it  were  within  the  range  of  the  most  liberal  indulgence 
for  us  to  express  satisfaction  with  the  adjustment  of  the  difficulties 
which  called  so  large  a  number  of  the  squatter  sovereigns  from  their 
firesides  to  encounter  the  inclemency  of  bleak  December  winds. 
*  *  *  Had  the  matter  rested  with  Mr.  Jones,  the  Sheriff,  the  result 
would  have  been  different.  The  criminals  would  have  been  traced  to 
their  hiding-places,  and  safely  secured  against  the  audacity  of  a  set  of 
God-forsaken  fanatics.  This  would  have  given  satisfaction,  answered 
the  purpose  of  the  requisition,  and  fulfilled  the  ends  of  justice.  As  it  is, 
base,  cowardly,  sneaking  scoundrels  will  go  unpunished,  and  be  left 
free  to  perpetrate  their  infamous  outrages  wherever  they  may  find  an 
unprotected  pro-slavery  family." 

About  the  time  of  the  murder  of  Brown,  alarms  of  in- 
vasion from  Missouri  were  frequent,  causing  some  precau- 
tions to  be  taken  by  the  Free-State  men.  Colonel  Blood, 
in  command  of  a  squad  of  cavalry,  visited  Easton  and 
vicinity  to  quiet  the  fears  of  the  settlers  in  that  neighbor- 
hood. Two  dispatches  were  sent  off  to  the  President  as 
follows : 

"  LAWRENCE,  January  21,  1856. 
"  To  Franklin  Pierce,  President  of  U.  S.  A. 

"  SIR  :  We  have  authentic  information  that  an  overwhelming  force  of 
the  citizens  of  Missouri  are  organizing  on  our  borders,  amply  supplied 
with  artillery,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  invading  this  Territory,  de- 
molishing our  towns,  and  butchering  our  unoffending  Free-State  citi- 
zens. 

"  We  respectfully  demand  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Kansas,  that 
the  commandant  of  the  United  States  troops  be  immediately  instructed 
to  interfere  to  prevent  such  an  inhuman  outrage." 

(Signed  by  Lane,  Deitzler,  Goodin,  and  Robinson.) 

"  LAWRENCE  CITY,  January  23,  1856. 
"  To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  SIR  :  We  notified  you  that  an  overwhelming  force,  supplied  with 
artillery,  were  organizing  on  our  border  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  in- 


224  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

vading  Kansas,  demolishing  the  towns,  and  butchering  the  unoffending 
Free-State  citizens,  and  they  constituting  fourteen-twentieths  of  the  en- 
tire population.  We  earnestly  request  you  to  issue  your  proclamation 
immediately,  forbidding  the  invasion.  We  trust  there  may  be  no  delay 
in  taking  so  important  a  step  to  prevent  an  outrage  which,  if  carried  out 
as  planned,  will  stand  forth  without  a  parallel  in  the  world's  history. 

"  Yours  respectfully." 
(Signed  by  Lane  and  Robinson.) 

It  was  well  known  that  a  movement  was  contemplated 
against  Kansas,  but  the  time  could  not  be  ascertained  when 
the  forces  were  to  march.  Meetings  were  being  held  in  all  the 
border  counties,  some  of  them  delegate  conventions  embrac- 
ing all  western  Missouri.  One  such  meeting  was  held  at 
Lexington.  Such  was  the  threatening  aspect  that  many 
Free-State  men  became  anxious  for  the  future,  and  there 
was  danger  that  so  many  would  leave  in  despair  as  to  dis- 
courage such  as  might  remain  to  meet  the  anticipated  shock. 
At  the  time  when  the  clouds  were  the  most  threatening  a  letter 
was  received  from  Eli  Thayer  describing  a  new  gun  he  was 
making  of  about  an  inch  and  a  half  calibre,  which  would 
carry  several  miles  as  accurately  as  the  best  rifle  at  a  shorter 
range.  This  was  to  be  breech-loading  and  with  it  every 
officer  of  the  enemy's  forces  could  be  picked  off  before  the 
battle  should  begin  by  the  rank  and  file.  This  letter  was 
read  and  re-read  to  squads  and  individuals,  and  it  inspired 
great  confidence  in  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  despondent. 
Not  only  would  such  a  weapon  be  of  great  importance,  but 
the  fact  that  the  friends  of  Kansas  were  active  in  its  be- 
half also  gave  great  encouragement.  A  report  at  this  time 
reached  Kansas  of  a  meeting  held  at  Worcester,  at  which  it 
appeared  that  General  Pomeroy  spoke,  and  many  leading 
citizens  of  Worcester,  among  them  Mr.  Thayer,  who  offered 
to  give  ten  Sharp's  rifles  in  advance  of  the  guns  being  made 
at  his  foundry,  on  condition  the  number  should  be  made  up 
to  one  hundred  by  the  other  citizens.  A  large  sum  was  re- 
ported as  pledged  at  the  meeting.  Also  other  cheering  news 


PROCLAMATION    OF    THE    PRESIDENT.  225 

was  received  from   different  Northern  States  showing  the 
deep  interest  felt  for  the  pioneers. 

As  spring  approached,  various  rumors  reached  Kansas 
from  Washington.  Governor  Shannon,  after  the  "  war," 
repaired  to  the  Capitol,  where  the  situation  might  be  dis- 
cussed without  the  formality  of  official  correspondence. 
Washington  letter-writers  to  the  New  York  papers,  such  as 
the  Herald  and  Times,  sent  contradictory  dispatches — one 
day  that  Governor  Shannon  on  his  return  to  Kansas  would  be 
instructed  to  arrest  all  the  members  of  the  State  Government 
should  it  attempt  to  organize  on  the  4th  of  March,  as  con- 
templated, and  the  next  day  this  report  would  be  denied  by 
one  stating  that  the  President  would  recognize  the  right  of 
the  Legislature  to  meet  undisturbed.  Such  was  the  agita- 
tion throughout  the  country  both  North  and  South,  in  some 
States  appropriations  being  proposed  or  made  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  men  to  be  sent  to  Kansas,  that  the  President 
issued  his  proclamation  as  follows : 

' '  Whereas,  Indications  exist  that  public  tranquillity  and  the  supremacy 
of  the  law  in  the  Territory  of  Kansas  are  endangered  by  the  reprehen- 
sible acts  or  purposes  of  persons  both  within  and  without  the  same,  who 
propose  to  control  and  direct  its  political  organizations  by  force ;  it  ap- 
pearing that  combinations  have  been  formed  therein  to  resist  the  execu- 
tion of  the  territorial  laws  and  thus,  in  effect,  subvert  by  violence  all 
present  constitutional  and  legal  authority ;  it  also  appearing  that  persons 
residing  without  this  Territory,  but  near  its  borders,  contemplate  armed 
intervention  in  the  affairs  thereof ;  it  also  appearing  that  other  persons, 
inhabitants  of  remote  States,  are  collecting  money  and  providing  arms 
for  the  same  purpose ;  and  it  further  appearing  that  combinations  in  the 
Territory  are  endeavoring  by  the  agencies  of  emissaries  and  otherwise 
to  induce  individual  States  of  the  Union  to  interfere  in  the  affairs 
thereof  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  and 
ivhereas,  all  such  plans  for  the  determination  of  the  future  institutions 
of  the  Territory,  if  carried  into  execution  from  or  within  the  same,  will 
constitute  the  fact  of  insurrection,  and  from  without  that  of  invasive  ag- 
gression, and  will  in  either  case  justify  and  require  the  forcible  interpo- 
sition of  the  whole  power  of  the  general  Government,  as  well  to  maintain 
the  laws  of  the  Territory  as  those  of  the  Union  : 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Franklin  Pierce,  President  of  the  United  States, 
15 


226  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

do  issue  this  my  proclamation,  to  command  all  persons  engaged  in  fin- 
lawful  combinations  against  the  constituted  authority  of  the  Territory  of 
Kansas,  or  of  the  United  States,  to  disperse  and  retire  peaceably  to 
their  respective  abodes,  and  to  warn  all  such  persons  that  an  attempted 
insurrection  in  said  Territory,  or  aggressive  intrusion  into  the  same, 
will  be  resisted,  not  only  by  the  employment  of  the  local  militia,  but 
also  by  that  of  any  available  force  of  the  United  States ;  to  the  end  of 
assuring  immunity  from  violence  and  full  protection  to  the  persons, 
property,  and  civil  rights  of  all  peaceful  and  law-abiding  inhabitants  of 
the  Territory.  If  in  any  part  of  the  Union  the  fury  of  faction  or  fa- 
naticism, inflamed  into  disregard  of  the  great  principles  of  popular  sov- 
ereignty, which,  under  the  Constitution,  are  fundamental  in  the  whole 
structure  of  our  institutions,  is  to  bring  on  the  country  the  dire  calamity 
of  an  arbitrament  of  arms  in  that  Territory,  it  shall  be  between  lawless 
violence  on  one  side  and  conservative  force  on  the  other,  wielded  by  legal 
authority  of  the  general  Government. 

"  I  call  on  the  citizens,  both  of  adjoining  and  of  distant  States,  to  ab- 
stain from  unauthorized  intermeddling  in  the  local  concerns  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, admonishing  them  that  its  organic  law  is  to  be  executed  with 
impartial  justice  ;  that  all  individual  acts  of  illegal  interference  will  incur 
condign  punishment,  and  that  any  endeavor  to  interfere  by  organized 
force,  will  be  firmly  withstood. 

"  I  invoke  all  good  citizens  to  promote  order  by  rendering  obedience 
to  the  law;  to  seek  remedy  for  temporary  evils  by  peaceful  means ;  to 
discountenance  and  repulse  the  counsels  and  the  instigations  of  agitators 
and  disorganizers,  and  to  testify  their  attachment  to  their  pride  in  its 
greatness,  their  appreciation  of  the  blessings  they  enjoy,  and  their  de- 
termination that  republican  institutions  shall  not  fail  in  their  hands  by 
co-operating  to  uphold  the  majesty  of  the  laws  and  to  vindicate  the 
sanctity  of  the  Constitution. 

"  In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused  the 
seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed  to  these  presents. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  eleventh  day  of  February,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-six,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States,  the  eightieth. 

"  By  the  President.  "  FRA™LI*  PlERCE' 

"  W.  L.  MARCY,  Secretary  of  State." 

Governor  Shannon  also  was  clothed  with  authority  to  call 
on  the  officers  at  Fort  Leavenworth  whenever  he  might  think 
best. 

Most  frantic  appeals  were  made  to  the  South  to  furnish 


SOUTHERN    APPEAL.  227 

men  and  money  for  the  conflict,  and  widely  circulated,  both 
North  and  South.  The  Springfield,  111.,  Journal,  makes 
this  reference  to  them  : 

"  In  the  Xational  Intelligencer  of  a  recent  date,  we  find  published  a 
circular  from  the  Kansas  Emigration  Society  of  Missouri,  addressed  to 
the  people  of  the  Southern  States,  some  of  the  statements  of  which  are 
well  worthy  the  consideration  of  the  people  of  the  North.  After  direct- 
ing '  the  attention  of  the  people  of  the  slave-holding  States  to  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  immediate  action  on  their  part,'  and  the  adoption  of 
prompt  and  decisive  measures  in  relation  to  the  settlement  of  Kansas 
Territory,  the  circular  makes  the  following  acknowledgment : 

' '  The  western  counties  of  Missouri  have  for  the  last  two  years  been 
heavily  taxed,  both  in  money  and  time,  in  fighting  the  battles  of  the 
South.  Lafayette  County  alone  has  expended  more  than  $100,000  in 
money,  and  as  much  more  in  time.  Up  to  this  time  the  border  counties 
of  Missouri  have  upheld  and  maintained  the  rights  and  interests  of 
the  South  in  this  struggle  unassisted,  and  not  unsuccessfully.  But  the 
abolitionists,  staking  their  all  upon  the  Kansas  issue,  and  hesitating  at 
no  means,  fair  or  foul,  are  moving  heaven  and  earth  to  render  that  beau- 
tiful Territory  a  "  Free  State." 

'  '  Missouri,  we  feel  confident,  has  done  her  duty,  and  will  still  be 
found  ready  and  willing  to  do  all  she  can,  fairly  and  honorably,  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  integrity  of  the  South.  But  the  time  has  come  when 
she  can  no  longer  stand  up  single-handed,  the  lone  champion  of  the 
South,  against  the  myrmidons  of  the  entire  North.  It  requires  no  fore- 
sight to  perceive  that  if  the  "  higher  law"  men  succeed  in  this  crusade, 
it  will  be  but  the  commencement  of  a  war  upon  the  institutions  of  the 
South,  which  will  continue  until  slavery  shall  cease  to  exist  in  any  of 
the  States,  or  the  Union  is  dissolved. 

"  '  The  great  struggle  will  come  off  at  the  next  election,  in  October, 
1856,  and  unless  the  South  can  at  that  time  maintain  her  ground,  all 
will  be  lost.  We  repeat  it,  the  crisis  has  arrived.  The  time  has  come 
for  action — bold,  determined  action.  Words  will  no  longer  do  any  good ; 
we  must  have  men  in  Kansas,  and  that  by  tens  t)f  thousands.  A  few 
will  not  answer.  If  we  should  need  ten  thousand  and  lack  one  of  that 
number,  all  will  count  nothing.  Let  all,  then,  who  can  come  do  so  at 
once.  Those  who  cannot  come  must  give  their  money  to  help  others  to 
come.  There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  broad  acres  of  rich  lands, 
worth  from  $5  to  $20  per  acre,  and  open  to  settlement  and  pre-emption 
at  $1.25  per  acre.  Shall  we  allow  these  rich  lands  and  this  beautiful 
country  to  be  overrun  by  our  abolition  enemies'?  We  tell  you  now, 
and  tell  you  frankly,  that  unless  you  come  quickly,  and  come  by  thou- 
sands, we  are  gone.  The  elections  once  lost  are  lost  forever.'  " 


228  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

The  State  Legislature  assembled  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1856,  according  to  the  provision  of  the  Constitution,  with- 
out interruption.  Both  Houses  were  organized,  a  message 
was  delivered,  and  Reeder  and  Lane  elected  United  States 
Senators.  A  codifying  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare 
bills  for  future  action,  when  the  Legislature  adjourned  to  the 
4th  of  July,  1856,  after  adopting  a  memorial  to  Congress 
asking  for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  State. 

The  constitution  and  memorial  were  taken  to  Washington 
by  Senator  elect  Lane  and  delivered  to  General  Cass  of  the 
Senate  and  Daniel  Mace  of  the  House.  Galusha  A.  Grow 
prepared  a  bill  for  the  admission  of  Kansas  into  the  Union 
which  passed  the  House  July  3,  1856,  by  a  vote  of  99  to 
97,  but  it  failed  to  pass  the  Senate. 

The  committee  to  visit  Kansas  in  the  interest  of  the  con- 
test for  the  seat  of  territorial  delegate  was  appointed  March 
19,  1856,  consisting,  as  before  stated,  of  Messrs.  Howard 
and  Sherman,  Republicans,  and  Oliver  of  Missouri,  Demo- 
crat. They  arrived  in  Kansas  on  the  iSth  of  April  and 
proceeded  to  take  testimony  relative  to  the  troubles  in  the 
Territory  previous  to  their  appointment.  The  committee, 
after  taking  a  large  volume  of  testimony,  reported  as  follows  : 

••  MAJORITY   REPORT. 

"  Your  committee  report  the  following  facts  and  conclusions  as  es- 
tablished by  the  testimony : 

"First.  That  each  election  in  the  Territory,  held  under  the  organic 
or  alleged  territorial  law,  has  been  carried  by  organized  invasion  from 
the  State  of  Missouri,  by  which  the  people  of  the  Territory  have  been 
prevented  from  exercising  the  rights  secured  to  them  by  the  organic 
law. 

"Second.  That  the  alleged  Territorial  Legislature  was  an  illegally 
constituted  body,  and  had  no  power  to  pass  valid  laws,  and  their  enact- 
ments are  therefore  null  and  void. 

"  Third.  That  these  alleged  laws  have  not,  as  a  general  thing,  been 
used  to  protect  persons  and  property,  and  to  punish  wrong,  but  for  un- 
lawful purposes. 

"Fourth.  That  the  election  under  which  tin-  sitting  delegate,  John 
\V.  Whitfield,  holds  his  seat,  was  not  held  in  pursuance  of  any  valid 


COMMITTEE'S  REPORT.  229 

law,  and  that  it  should  only  be  regarded  as  the  expression  of  the  choice 
of  these  residents  who  voted  for  him. 

"Fifth.  That  the  election  under  which  the  contesting  delegate,  An- 
drew H.  Reecler,  claims  his  seat,  was  not  held  in  pursuance  of  law,  and 
that  it  should  be  regarded  only  as  the  expression  of  the  resident  citi- 
zens who  voted  for  him. 

"Sixth.  That  Andrew  H.  Reeder  received  a  greater  number  of  votes 
of  resident  citizens  than  John  \V.  Whitfield  for  delegate. 

"Seventh.  That  in  the  present  condition  of  the  Territory  a  fair  elec- 
tion cannot  be  held  without  a  new  census,  a  stringent  and  well-guarded 
election  law,  the  selection  of  impartial  judges  and  the  presence  of 
United  States  troops  at  every  place  of  election. 

"Eighth.  That  the  various  elections  held  by  the  people  of  the  Ter- 
ritory preliminary  to  the  formation  of  the  State  Government  have  been 
as  regular  as  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  Territory  would  allow  ; 
and  that  the  constitution  passed  by  the  convention  held  in  pursuance  of 
said  elections  embodies  the  will  of  a  majority  of  the  people. 

"  As  it  is  not  the  province  of  your  committee  to  suggest  remedies  for 
the  existing  troubles  in  the  Territory  of  Kansas,  they  content  themselves 
with  the  foregoing  statement  of  facts. 

"  All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted.          ,,  w     .     trmvARn 

"  JOHN  SHERMAN." 

'•"  MINORITY  REPORT. 

"  In  conclusion,  the  undersigned  begs  to  report  the  following  facts 
and  conclusions,  as  he  believes  established  by  the  testimony  and  sanc- 
tioned by  law : 

"First.  That  the  first  election  held  in  the  Territory  under  the  or- 
ganic act,  for  delegate  to  Congress,  General  John  W.  Whitfield  received 
a  plurality  of  the  legal  votes  cast,  and  was  duly  elected  as  such  delegate, 
as  stated  in  the  majority  report. 

"Second.  That  the  Territorial  Legislature  was  a  legally  constituted 
body,  and  had  power  to  pass  valid  laws,  and  their  enactments  were 
therefore  valid. 

"Third.  That  these  laws  when  appealed  to  have  been  used  for  the 
protection  of  life,  liberty,  and  property,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  law 
and  order  in  the  Territory. 

"Fourth.  That  the  election  under  which  the  sitting  delegate,  John 
W.  Whitfield,  was  held  was  in  pursuance  of  valid  law,  and  should  be 
regarded  as  a  valid  election. 

"Fifth.  That  as  said  Whitfield,  at  said  election,  received  a  large 
number  of  legal  votes  without  opposition,  he  was  duly  elected  as  a 
delegate  in  this  body,  and  is  entitled  to  a  seat  on  this  floor  as  such. 


230  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"Sixth.  That  the  election  under  which  the  contesting  delegate, 
Andrew  H.  Reeder,  claims  his  seat,  was  not  held  under  any  law,  but 
in  contemptuous  disregard  of  all  law,  and  that  it  should  only  be  re- 
garded as  the  expression  of  a  band  of  malcontents  and  revolutionists  by 
the  House. 

"Seventh.  As  to  whether  or  not  Andrew  H.  Reeder  received  a 
greater  number  of  votes  of  resident  citizens  on  the  Qth  than  J.  W. 
Whitfield  did  on  the  1st  of  October,  1855,  no  testimony  was  taken  by 
the  committee,  so  far  as  the  undersigned  knows,  nor  is  it  material  to 
the  issue. 

"  All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

"  M.  OLIVER." 

The  House  voted  to  declare  the  seat  vacant  by  1 1  o  yeas 
to  92  nays,  neither  admitting  Whitfield  nor  Reeder. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  MARSHAL'S  INVASION  OF  LAWRENCE,  MAY  21,  1856. — 

SHOOTING  OF  JONES. AN  OFFICIAL  RIOT. ARREST  OF 

ROBINSON. PROTEST  TO  PRESIDENT. REEDER'S  ESCAPE. 

ANOTHER  scene  in  the  tragedy  called  "popular  sover- 
eignty" was  to  be  enacted  in  the  spring  of  1856.  This  was 
to  be  a  second  edition  of  the  Wakarusa  war,  with  only  a 
change  of  scene  and  characters.  The  Free-State  men  had 
no  new  moves  to  make,  as  their  policy  had  already  been 
adopted,  and  they  had  only  to  hold  their  ground  and  fill 
the  Territory  with  Free-State  voters  and  have  them  in  readi- 
ness for  the  election  of  a  Territorial  Legislature  to  be  held 
in  1857.  In  the  meantime  they  had  only  to  "thwart, 
baffle,  and  circumvent "  the  Slave-State  party  in  establishing 
slavery  in  Kansas  by  means  of  the  legislation  resulting  from 
the  invasion  of  the  3oth  of  March,  1855.  As  in  the  fall  of 
1855,  so  now,  the  game  on  the  Slave-State  side  was  to  get 
the  Free-State  men  pitted  against  Federal  authority.  Gen- 
eral Whitfield  wrote  to  his  friend  Clark,  who  shot  Barber, 

as  follows: 

"  WASHINGTON,  ist  March,  1856. 

"  MY  DEAR  CLARK:  I  assure  you  I  have  not  forgotten  our  mutual 
friend,  Dr.  Rodrique.  I  have  sent  him  seeds,  documents,  etc.  One 
thing  you  perhaps  are  not  aware  of,  that  two-thirds  of  the  seeds  are 
stolen,  and  having  to  pass  through  that  Hell  Hole  (Lawrence)  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  nearly  all  are  stolen  there.  Say  to  the  Doctor 
that  his  name  is  on  my  special  list.  Clark,  you  have  no  idea  of  the  work 
I  have  to  do  in  addition  to  my  labors  as  delegate.  I  must  confess  that 
Reeder  and  his  army  of  abolitionists  give  me  some  trouble.  I  have 
thrown  him  twice,  and  I  think  I  will  give  him  another  tip.  I  feel  cer- 
tain they  have  despaired  of  his  getting  a  seat,  and  only  hope  to  send  the 
election  back.  The  last  move  is  to  send  for  persons  and  papers  ;  one 
object  is  to  pay  his  army  of  abolitionists  that  he  has  here.  I  think, 


232  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

though,  he  will  be  defeated,  and  a  commissioner  will  be  sent  out.  If 
so,  I  will  get  S.  F.  Woodson  and  others  to  take  depositions.  I  have 
labored  hard  every  day  since  I  left  Kansas  to  induce  Southern  men  to 
go  to  Kansas,  and  I  have  strong  hopes  that  we  shall  have  a  large  emi- 
gration. Our  friends  should  meet  and  appoint  committees  in  every  town 
to  attend  to  them  on  their  arrival. 

"  Shannon  is  with  you,  I  hope,  before  this,  with  full  and  ample 
power  to  put  down  the  abolitionists  in  the  Territory.  We  think  here 
that  Mr.  Pierce  comes  up  to  the  scratch  nobly.  Your  humble  servant 
is  charged  with  figuring  in  getting  up  the  message.  One  thing  certain, 
Clark,  if  they  attempt  to  fight  Uncle  Sam's  boys,  the  ball  is  open,  and 
civil  war  is  inevitable.  If  so,  you  will  see  me  in  Kansas.  You  can 
command  me  here  at  any  and  all  times. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  J.  \V.  WHITKIELD." 

"  One  thing  certain,  Clark,  if  they  attempt  to  fight  Uncle 
Sam's  boys,  the  ball  is  open,  and  civil  war  is  inevitable." 

Yes,  yes!  But  fortunately  the  Free-State  men  were  as 
well  aware  of  this  fact  as  Whitfield,  and  there  was  more 
prospect  of  getting  the  Slave-State  men  in  collision  with 
Uncle  Sam's  boys  than  the  Free-State  men,  unless  by  acci- 
dent or  disregard  of  orders. 

The  preliminary  skirmish  was  by  "Sheriff"  Jones,  who 
appeared  at  Lawrence,  April  igth,  to  arrest  S.  N.  Wood,  who 
had  returned  from  the  East  where  he  had  been  lecturing  on 
Kansas  affairs.  Wood  was  to  be  arrested  as  one  of  the 
Branson  rescuers.  Although  at  first  submitting  to  an  arrest, 
the  bystanders  good-naturedly  jostled  him  away  from  Jones, 
leaving  the  Sheriff  to  return  to  Lecompton  without  his  pris- 
oner. The  next  day,  Sunday,  he  returned  with  additional 
writs,  and  called  for  a  posse  to  enable  him  to  serve  them. 
But  the  citizens  were  desirous  of  attending  church,  or  were 
otherwise  inclined,  and  proved  very  inefficient  as  a  posse. 
However,  Jones  seeing  S.  F.  Tappan,  another  Branson  res- 
cuer, somewhat  roughly  attempted  to  arrest  him,  when  Tap- 
pan  struck  him  in  the  face.  This  answered  every  purpose, 
and  Jones  called  upon  Governor  Shannon  as  aforetime  for 
assistance.  Shannon  promptly  furnished  a  lieutenant  and 


SHOOTING    OF   JONES,  233 

six  United  States  soldiers.  With  these  Jones  again  visited 
Lawrence,  but  not  to  meet  with  resistance.  The  soldier's 
uniform  was  a  safe  passport  in  any  Free-State  community. 
However,  such  as  did  not  desire  arrest  were  invisible  and 
no  one  seemed  to  know  where  they  were,  or  if  so,  would 
not  tell.  Wood,  especially,  was  not  found,  and  Jones  con- 
cluded to  spend  the  night  at  Lawrence  in  the  officer's  tent. 
Some  person,  in  violation  of  the  policy  and  wishes  of  the 
Free-State  party,  shot  Jones  in  his  tent,  the  ball  striking  him 
between  the  shoulders.  This  was  a  very  impolitic  act,  and 
was  just  what  was  wanted  to  arouse  the  Slave-State  party 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  enthusiasm  for  their  cause.  Their 
papers  announced  that  Jones  had  been  killed  in  the  hated 
town  of  Lawrence,  and  war  had  already  commenced.  The 
people  held  a  meeting  and  denounced  the  outrage  in  severe 
terms,  and  offered  a  reward  of  $500  for  the  arrest  and  pun- 
ishment of  the  criminal.  The  following  correspondence  will 
show  how  the  matter  was  viewed  by  Colonel  Sumner  and 
the  public : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  CAVALRY, 

"  CAMP  NEAR  LAWRENCE,  April  27,  1856. 

"  SlR:  As  there  are  no  municipal  officers  in  the  town  of  Lawrence, 
I  think  proper  to  address  you  before  returning  to  my  post.  The  recent 
attempt  made  upon  the  life  of  Sheriff  Jones  will  produce  great  excite- 
ment throughout  the  Territory  and  on  the  Missouri  frontier,  and  I  con- 
sider it  of  the  utmost  importance  that  every  effort  should  be  made  by 
your  people  to  ferret  out  and  bring  to  justice  the  cowardly  assassin.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  peace  of  the  country  may  depend  on  it, 
for,  if  he  is  not  arrested,  the  act  will  be  charged  by  the  opposite  party 
upon  your  whole  community.  This  affair  has  been  reported  to  Wash- 
ington, and  whatever  orders  may  be  received  will  be  instantly  carried 
into  effect.  The  proclamation  which  requires  obedience  to  the  laws  of 
the  Territory  as  they  now  stand  until  legally  abrogated,  will  certainly 
be  maintained,  and  it  is  very  unsafe  to  give  heed  to  people  at  a  distance 
who  counsel  resistance.  If  they  were  here  to  participate  in  the  danger, 
they  would  probably  take  a  different  view  of  this  matter. 
"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  E.  V.  SUMNER, 
"  Colonel  First  Cavalry  Commanding. 

"  To  Mr.  Charles  Robinson.''1 


234  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  REPLY. 

"  LAWRENCE,  K.  T.,  April  27,  1856. 

"  SlR:  Your  note  of  this  morning  is  received,  and  in  answer  permit 
me  to  say  that  the  cowardly  attack  upon  Mr.  Jones  receives  no  counte- 
nance whatever  from  the  citizens  of  Lawrence,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
meets  with  universal  condemnation,  and  if  the  guilty  party  can  be  found, 
he  will  most  certainly  be  given  over  to  justice.  It  is  and  has  been  the 
policy  of  the  people  of  Lawrence  to  yield  prompt  obedience  to  the  laws 
and  officers  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  as  Mr.  Jones  was  acting 
with  the  authority  of  that  Government  on  the  day  of  the  assault,  the 
guilty  party  was  an  enemy  to  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  no  less  than  a 
violator  of  the  laws.  The  people  of  Lawrence  are  without  any  organ- 
ized municipal  government,  and  consequently  no  person  or  persons  can 
speak  or  act  officially  for  them,  but  from  what  I  know  of  their  feelings 
and  disposition,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  they  will  ever  be 
found  loyal  citizens  of  the  Government,  and  ready  to'  do  all  in  their 
power  to  maintain  the  laws  of  their  country.  As  an  evidence  of  the 
public  sentiment  of  this  community,  I  enclose  a  copy  of  the  proceedings 
of  a  public  meeting  held  on  the  morning  after  the  unfortunate  affair  oc- 
curred. Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  CHARLES  ROBINSON. 

" Colonel E.  V.  Sunnier." 

Although  Jones  was  not  fatally  injured  he  was  disabled  for 
a  time,  and  his  duties  devolved  upon  Deputy  Sheriff  Salter. 

After  this,  preparations  on  a  more  elaborate  scale  were 
made  to  subdue  the  hated  rebels.  The  District  Court  was 
held  the  second  week  in  May,  and  Chief  Justice  Lecompte 
foreshadowed  the  plan  in  his  charge  to  the  jury.  Among 
other  things  he  said  : 

"  This  Territory  was  organized  by  an  act  of  Congress,  and  so  far  its 
authority  is  from  the  United  States.  It  has  a  Legislature  elected  in 
pursuance  of  that  organic  act.  This  Legislature,  being  an  instrument  of 
Congress  by  which  it  governs  the  Territory,  has  passed  laws.  These 
laws,  therefore,  are  of  United  States  authority  and  making,  and  all  who 
resist  these  laws  resist  the  power  and  authority  of  the  United  States, 
and  are  therefore  guilty  of  high  treason.  \n\v,  Ljintleinen,  if  you  find 
that  any  person  has  resisted  these  laws,  then  you  must,  under  your 
oaths,  find  bills  against  them  for  high  treason.  If  you  find  that  no  such 
resistance  has  been  made,  but  that  combinations  have  been  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  resisting  them,  and  individuals  of  notoriety  have  been 
aiding  and  abetting  in  such  combinations,  then  must  you  find  bills  for 
constructive  treason.'1'' 


TREASON    INDICTMENT.  235 

As  Lane  and  Brown  had  failed  to  use  the  force  at  Law- 
rence against  the  Federal,  or  any  other  authority,  no  treason 
could  be  discovered ;  and  as  the  force  at  Lawrence  was 
organized  for  purely  defensive  purposes,  not  even  construct- 
ive treason  could  be  successfully  charged.  This  charge  to 
the  jury  was  conclusive  evidence  of  the  programme,  and  the 
trap  was  ingeniously  set,  but  it  was  in  full  view  of  the  bird 
to  be  caught  and  proved  to  be  in  vain.  The  plan  was  well 
laid.  As  treason  was  supposed  not  to  be  a  bailable  offense, 
an  indictment  would  enable  them  to  place  in  confinement 
all  such  persons  as  were  not  wanted  to  run  at  large.  Ac- 
cordingly, Reeder,  Deitzler,  G.  W.  Brown,  G.  W.  Smith, 
Gaius  Jenkins,  and  Robinson  were  indicted,  and  all  but 
Reeder,  who  escaped  in  disguise,  shut  up  or  confined  on  the 
prairie.  Lane  and  S.  N.  Wood  were  also  indicted,  but  not 
arrested.  As  the  plan  was  to  bring  the  Free-State  men  in 
conflict  with  "  Uncle  Sam's  boys,"  and  as  Wood  had  led  the 
rescue  of  Branson,  and  Lane  and  John  Brown  tried  to  lead 
an  attack  upon  the  Governor's  militia,  they  were  supposed 
to  be  of  more  use  running  at  large  than  in  confinement. 
All  the  men  arrested,  except,  perhaps,  Robinson,  were  cool, 
sagacious,  and  conservative,  and  could  not  be  driven  to  take 
a  false  position.  The  same  is  true  of  S.  N.  Wood,  though 
the  Slave-State  men  did  not  know  that  fact.  But  before 
any  indictments  were  found,  the  Free-State  men  were  put  in 
possession  of  the  purposes  of  their  opponents  and  hence 
were  not  taken  unawares.  James  F.  Legate,  one  of  the 
Grand  Jury,  met  Howard  and  Sherman  of  the  Congres- 
sional Committee,  and  Reeder  and  Robinson,  at  or  near 
Tecumseh,  and  divulged  the  plan  as  foreshadowed  in  the 
Grand  Jury  room.  This  plan  contemplated  the  indictment 
not  only  of  those  active  in  the  defense  of  Lawrence  for 
treason,  but  of  all  persons  connected  with  the  State  Gov- 
ernment, whether  State  officers  or  members  of  the  Leg- 
islature. Such  as  resided  in  Douglas  County  were  to  be  in- 
dicted by  the  jury  then  in  session,  and  the  others  would  be 


236  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

indicted  when  the  court  should  convene  in  Shawnee  County, 
where  the  Legislature  had  met  and  organized.  The  night 
after  receiving  this  information  Howard,  Sherman,  Reeder, 
Roberts,  Mrs.  Sherman,  Mrs.  Robinson,  and  Robinson  held 
a  "  council  of  war  "  in  the  Garvey  House,  which  continued 
till  nearly  daylight.  A  full  and  free  discussion  of  the  situ- 
ation was  had  and  this  conclusion  reached,  namely,  that  in 
the  execution  of  the  plan  of  the  Slave-State  men  there  was  a 
possibility  of  a  geneal  conflict  of  arms ;  that  should  it  be 
impossible  to  avoid  such  conflict  without  a  surrender  of  the 
Free-State  cause,  it  must  be  met,  and  if  met  the  Free-State 
men  should  take  issue  rather  in  defense  of  the  State  organiza- 
tion than  offensively  against  the  territorial.  In  view  of  such 
a  contingency  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  the  sympathy 
and  aid  of  the  people  of  the  Northern  States,  and  they  must 
be  informed  of  what  might  occur.  It  was  decided  at  this 
council  that  Robinson  was  the  proper  person  to  send  East 
to  visit  the  governors  and  other  sympathizers  ;  and,  as  there 
had  been  no  law  passed  by  the  State  Legislature  that  could 
be  used  in  such  contingency,  it  was  decided  that  if  it  were 
thought  necessary  to  use  the  State  Government,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Roberts  should  convene  the  Legislature  before  the 
court  should  sit  in  Shawnee  County,  that  militia,  habeas  cor- 
pus and  such  other  laws  as  might  be  needed  should  be  passed. 
Robinson  would  complete  his  mission  and  return  at  the  con- 
vening of  the  Legislature.  He  was  desired  also  to  carry 
with  him  the  testimony  already  taken  by  the  Congressional 
Committee  as  there  was  great  danger  that  it  might  be  seized 
and  destroyed.  As  no  indictments  had  yet  been  found  by 
the  Grand  Jury,  no  interference  was  anticipated  with  Rob- 
inson, at  least  before  his  return.  Accordingly,  he  started 
on  his  mission  the  gth  day  of  May,  with  Mrs.  Robinson, 
without  concealment  or  disguise.  But  a  general  pro-slavery 
convention  had  been  held  at  Lexington  not  long  before, 
where  doubtless  the  plan  of  campaign  had  been  matured, 
and  it  was  there  known  that  Robinson  was  to  be  indicted, 


ARREST    OF    ROBINSON.  237 

if  he  had  not  already  been,  and  he  was  arrested  on  pretense 
of  being  a  fugitive  from  justice.  It  happened  in  this  wise. 
Having  spent  one  night  in  consultation  at  Topeka  with  the 
Congressional  Committee ;  another  at  Lawrence  in  consul- 
tation with  leading  Free-State  men,  and  a  third  at  Kansas 
City  with  Kersey  Coates,  as  soon  as  Robinson  could  get  to 
his  state-room  on  the  steamboat,  anticipating  no  interference 
of  any  kind,  he  improved  the  occasion  for  a  sound  sleep. 
He  was  thus  occupied  when  on  arriving  at  Lexington  he 
was  aroused  by  loud  raps  at  the  door  of  his  room.  On 
opening  it  he  was  confronted  by  some  gentlemen,  who  in- 
formed him  they  were  appointed  a  committee  to  notify  him 
that  he  must  leave  the  boat  at  that  place.  On  inquiring  of 
them  the  name  of  the  place  and  why  he  must  stop  there,  he 
was  told  that  the  place  was  Lexington,  and  the  people  had 
understood  he  was  a  fugitive  from  justice.  Robinson  said 
he  had  heard  of  no  indictment  as  yet  found,  that  he  had 
been  openly  in  the  Territory  and  was  going  to  the  States  on 
business  and  not  as  a  fugitive.  On  being  told  that  a  large 
number  of  people  were  on  the  boat  and  drinking  freely  at 
the  bar,  Robinson  desired  to  address  them,  as  he  was  sure 
he  could  satisfy  them  they  had  no  business  to  interfere  with 
him.  To  this  the  committee  decidedly  objected,  as  the  mob 
would  not  listen  to  reason  from  any  one,  much  less  from 
him.  It  appearing  that  force  would  be  used  if  necessary, 
Robinson  referred  the  matter  to  Mrs.  Robinson,  whether  to 
use  such  means  of  defense  as  he  had — one  revolver — or  go 
with  the  committee,  when  she  promptly  replied,  "  They  will 
kill  you  if  you  go,  and  you  may  as  well  make  a  stand 
here."  But  the  committee  assured  her  that  no  harm  should 
come  to  her  husband,  they  would  pledge  their  honor  and 
lives  if  need  be  for  his  protection,  if  he  would  go  with  them  ; 
when  Mrs.  R.  withdrew  her  objection,  and  both  left  the  boat, 
avoiding  the  crowd  at  the  bar.  The  landing  was  covered 
with  people,  but  there  was  no  disturbance,  and  the  prisoners 
with  their  baggage  were  taken  to  Judge  Sawyer's,  who  was 


238  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

afterwards  a  member  of  Congress.  He  had  resided  in  Fitch- 
burg,  Massachusetts,  where  he  had  studied  law,  and  treated 
his  prisoner  more  like  a  prince  than  a  fugitive  from  justice. 
At  night  a  boat  came  down  the  river  and  remained  till  morn- 
ing. A  gentleman  on  board,  learning  that  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Robinson  was  held  as  prisoner  in  Lexington,  called 
at  Judge  Sawyer's  place  to  see  him.  On  being  admitted  he 
proved  to  be  Dr.  R.  H.  McDonald,  the  "  Vinegar  Bitters" 
man,  now  a  millionaire,  who  was  the  physician  of  Sacra- 
mento County  in  1850,  and  extracted  the  ball  from  Robin- 
son's body  when  he  was  shot  in  the  squatter  riot  of  that 
year.  His  first  salutation  was,  "  Well,  it  is  you,  sure 
enough !  When  I  heard  a  man  with  your  name  was  a  pris- 
oner I  thought  it  must  be  you,  as  you  are  always  in  some 
scrape." 

As  Mrs.  R.  was  not  regarded  as  a  fugitive  from  justice, 
or  labor,  she  was  permitted  to  go  on  her  journey,  taking 
with  her  the  testimony  of  the  committee. 

Judge  Sawyer  informed  his  prisoner  that  two  men  from 
the  country  tried  one  day  to  get  up  a  mob  to  lynch  him, 
but  when  it  was  proposed  to  turn  Robinson  into  the  street 
against  these  two  men  with  the  same  kind  of  weapons  they 
should  have,  they  subsided  and  nothing  more  was  heard  of 
lynching. 

As  no  indictment  had  been  found  against  Robinson,  he 
was  held  in  Lexington  about  a  week  while  messengers  could 
go  to  Lecompton  for  an  indictment,  and  to  the  Governor  of 
Missouri  with  a  requisition  from  Governor  Shannon  after  it 
should  be  found  by  the  Grand  Jury,  which  could  furnish  any 
indictment  to  order  on  short  notice.  In  this  case  it  was  for 
usurpation  of  office  on  account  of  having  been  elected  Gov- 
ernor under  the  State  constitution.  The  treason  indictment 
came  later. 

At  length,  the  Deputy  United  States  Marshal  Preston 
appeared  at  Lexington,  armed  and  equipped  with  requi- 
sition, posse,  revolvers,  and  conveyance.  The  route  by  land 


ARRIVAL    AT    WESTPORT.  239 

instead  of  river  was  taken,  and  soon  Westport  was  reached, 
where  a  halt  was  made.  Soon  after  entering  the  hotel,  the 
prisoner  was  called  upon  by  W.  H.  Russell,  a  lawyer  who 
was  employed  in  California  by  the  squatters  in  their  land 
conflicts.  He  was  now  a  resident  of  Missouri,  had  heard  of 
the  arrest  of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Robinson,  and  called  to 
see  if  it  was  his  old  client  indicted  for  murder,  etc.,  in 
Sacramento.  He  was  ready  to  be  employed  again  if  de- 
sired, and  engaged  in  the  case.  One  question  he  wished  to 
ask.  He  said  there  was  a  man  by  the  name  of  Hayes  now  at 
Westport  who  had  some  slaves  taken  from  him  in  California 
on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  by  a  man  named  Robinson.  He 
was  very  bitter,  and  swore  that  if  the  prisoner  was  that  Rob- 
inson he  would  shoot  him  on  sight.  Russell  desired  to 
know  the  facts,  and  if  the  prisoner  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  matter  he  would  like  to  know  it.  Robinson  informed 
him  that  while  in  California  he  had  nothing  to  do  with 
such  a  case,  but  had  heard  of  a  man  of  the  same  name  with 
a  family  who  was  connected  with  the  freeing  of  some  slaves. 
However,  Hayes  proposed  to  investigate  the  matter  for 
himself,  and  took  his  position  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  as  the 
prisoner  descended  for  his  dinner.  No  demonstration,  how- 
ever, was  made  except  a  mutual  stare  as  the  dining-room 
was  entered.  At  Westport,  Robinson  sent  for  Colonel  Ker- 
sey Coates,  and  retained  him  as  attorney.  From  him  Robin- 
son learned  the  situation  at  Lawrence,  which  had  not  yet  been 
entered  by  the  Marshal's  posse  of  eight  hundred  men.  On 
his  way  East  Colonel  Coates  had  given  Robinson  the  result 
of  an  interview  with  a  man  connected  with  the  Blue  Lodges, 
and  at  Robinson's  request  had  imparted  that  information  to 
the  people  at  Lawrence,  with  the  advice  that  under  no  cir- 
cumstances should  Federal  authority  be  resisted.  Here, 
with  proper  caution,  was  an  opportunity  for  gaining  a  grand 
victory.  If  the  United  States  Marshal,  or  any  other  officer 
under  sanction  of  the  Federal  authority,  would  enter  Law- 
rence unresisted  and  execute  such  writs  as  were  in  contem- 


240  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

plation,  it  would  be  a  victory  against  the  bogus  laws  and 
officials,  including  the  President  of  the  United  States,  that 
could  not  be  achieved  by  a  hundred  battles  and  the  killing 
of  thousands  of  men.  The  infamy  would  be  unparalleled, 
and  the  more  wanton  and  extensive  the  outrage,  the  greater 
the  victory  to  the  Free-State  cause.  Colonel  Coates  agreed 
fully  with  this  view. 

Governor  Shannon,  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  gave 
his  view  of  the  rebels  and  the  rebellion  in  part  as  follows : 

"  I  herewith  transmit  a  certified  copy,  marked  Xo.  8,  of  evidence 
that  was  elicited  by  the  Grand  Jury  of  Jefferson  County,  at  their  last 
term,  in  relation  to  a  secret,  oath-bound  military  organization,  which 
exists  in  this  Territory.  It  will  be  perceived  that  it  is  different  and 
much  more  dangerous  than  the  one  which  was  exposed  some  time  since. 
I  have  satisfactory  information  that  this  secret  organization  exists  in 
the  East,  and  that  by  means  of  the  signs  and  grips  the  new  emigrants 
from  the  East  are  enabled  to  recognize  their  fellow-members  in  this 
Territory  to  whom  personally  they  are  unknown.  I  am  now  able  to 
state,  upon  reliable  information,  the  whole  plan  of  resistance  to  the  ter- 
ritorial laws  and  their  execution,  which  has  been  adopted  by  those  who 
pretend  to  deny  their  validity.  This  plan  is  well  understood  and  sup- 
ported by  a  dangerous,  secret,  oath-bound  organization  of  men  who,  it  is 
believed,  from  the  manifestations  and  threats  already  made,  will  be  un- 
scrupulous as  to  the  use  of  means  to  accomplish  their  objects.  The 
plan  is  this :  whenever  an  officer,  whether  United  States  marshal,  sheriff, 
or  constable,  shall  attempt  to  execute  a  writ  or  process  issued  under 
any  territorial  law,  aided  and  assisted  by  a  posse  of  United  States  troops, 
he  is  to  be  evaded,  but  not  openly  resisted.  Should  an  attempt  be  made 
by  any  officer  to  execute  any  writ  or  process  issued  under  the  laws  of 
this  Territory,  unaided  by  a  posse  of  United  States  troop*.  he  is  to  be 
resisted  by  force  at  all  hazards.  There  is  a  determined  purpose  to  carry 
out  this  programme,  regardless  of  all  consequences,  and  the  country  is 
filled  with  armed  men,  the  greater  portion  of  whom  have  recently  arrived 
in  the  Territory,  ready  to  carry  out  this  plan  by  force  of  arms.  It  will 
be  obvious  to  the  President  that,  if  every  officer  of  the  Government 
charged  with  the  execution  of  legal  process,  issued  under,  and  to  enforce 
the  territorial  laws,  is  compelled  to  call  on  a  military  posse  of  United 
States  troops  to  aid  in  executing  the  law,  that  the  territorial  Govern- 
ment will  be  practically  nullified.  It  will  be  impossible  to  collect  the 
taxes  assessed  for  county  or  territorial  purposes  if  this  plan  of  resistance 
should  be  successful. 


SHANNON    TO    MARCY.  241 

"  Indeed,  the  people  of  the  Territory  will  not  submit  to  it  without  an 
attempt  at  least  to  enforce  the  laws  against  all.  There  is  now  in  the 
town  of  Lawrence  an  arsenal  well  supplied  with  all  the  munitions  of 
war,  which  have  been  purchased  in  the  East  and  secretly  introduced  into 
that  place.  They  have  ten  pieces  of  artillery,  at  least  one  thousand 
stand  of  Sharp's  rifles,  and  a  large  supply  of  revolvers.  There  are  said 
to  be  about  five  hundred  men  in  the  town  of  Lawrence  at  this  time  who 
refuse  to  submit  to  the  territorial  laws,  and  who  openly  declare  that  no 
officer  shall  execute  any  process  issued  under  these  laws  without  being 
resisted  by  force.  A  large  portion  of  the  country  people  who  took  an 
active  part  with  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  in  the  difficulty  last  fall  seem 
to  hold  themselves  entirely  aloof  from  the  difficulties  with  which  we  are 
now  threatened,  and  are  now  open  in  their  denunciations  of  C.  Robin- 
son and  his  party.  But  the  recent  emigrants  from  the  East  (with  some 
exceptions,  of  course)  seem  determined  to  provoke  a  civil  conflict.  The 
law-and-order  party  of  the  Territory  so  far  seem  determined,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  avoid  this  calamity.  But  it  is  in  vain  to  conceal  the  fact 
that  we  are  threatened  on  all  sides  with  most  serious  difficulties,  and 
that  a  dangerous  crisis  is  rapidly  approaching.  Sheriff  Jones  had  a  very 
extensive  acquaintance  not  only  in  this  Territory,  but  also  in  the  border 
counties  in  Missouri,  where  he  formerly  resided,  and  was  universally 
respected  and  esteemed  as  a  high-minded,  honorable,  and  brave  man. 
The  dastardly  attempt  to  assassinate  him  while  in  the  discharge  and  for 
the  performance  of  his  official  duties,  connected  with  the  threats  openly 
made  of  assassination  against  others,  and  the  firm  conviction  in  the  pub- 
lic mind  that  this  is  a  part  of  a  settled  policy,  to  be  carried  out  through 
the  agency  of  a  secret  order  or  organization,  have  already  produced 
strong  feeling  of  excitement  throughout  the  whole  country,  which  is 
rapidly  on  the  increase,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  at  this  time  where  it 
will  end.  Large  parties,  both  from  the  North  and  South,  are  daily 
arriving  with  pre-existing  prejudices  and  hostile  feelings,  which  will 
greatly  increase  the  difficulty  of  preserving  the  peace  of  this  Territory. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

.,,,       j,r   T     ,,        „  "  WILSON  SHANNON. 

Hon.   W.  L.  Marcy. 

While  the  statements  relative  to  secret  organizations  and 
arms  and  men  at  Lawrence  are  greatly  exaggerated,  the  pur- 
pose on  the  part  of  the  Free-State  men  to  thwart  and  baffle 
territorial  officials  unaided  by  Federal  authority,  so  as  to 
make  the  bogus  enactments  a  dead  letter,  is  correctly  stated. 
The  object  was  not  only  to  prevent  any  advantage  to  slavery 
from  being  gained  by  the  usurpation,  but,  by  compelling 
16 


242  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

a  resort  to  United  States  troops,  or  United  States  militia 
or  marshal's  posse  to  serve  every  warrant,  however  trifling, 
to  hold  the  fraudulent  government  up  to  the  contempt 
of  all  people,  and  so  to  harass  the  Administration  that  it 
would  be  glad  to  get  out  of  the  difficulty  by  insuring  or 
permitting  a  fair  election  for  the  next  Legislature,  to  be 
chosen  in  the  fall  of  1857.  It  was  thus  immaterial  how 
many  printing  presses,  hotels,  and  bridges  were  indicted 
and  destroyed,  or  how  many  men  should  be  killed  in  the 
operation,  so  that  the  responsibility  could  be  placed  upon 
the  Federal  authority.  Of  course,  the  destruction  of  life 
and  property  under  any  circumstances,  would  be  a  misfort- 
une to  such  as  might  suffer,  but  every  such  outrage  would 
react  against  the  usurpation  with  more  force  than  a  pitched 
battle.  In  fact,  could  the  Administration  plead  the  least 
armed  resistance  to  Federal  authority,  the  justification  of  the 
officers  would  be  complete,  and  the  reaction  would  be 
against  the  Free-State  men.  This  was,  in  one  sense,  a  state 
of  war,  but  unlike  any  other  war  known  to  history,  inasmuch 
as  the  more  outrages  the  people  could  get  the  Government 
to  perpetrate  upon  them,  the  more  victories  they  would  gain, 
and  this  simply  because  the  field  of  battle  embraced  the 
entire  country,  and  the  chief  victories  at  this  stage  were  to 
be  moral,  political,  and  national. 

To  show  what  desperate  efforts  were  made  by  the  officials 
to  exasperate  the  Free-State  men,  and  drive  them  to  take 
position  against  Federal  authority,  the  following  memorial 
is  given,  as  sent  to  the  President,  setting  forth  the  whole 
case  from  the  settlers'  point  of  view.  But  two  things  were 
done  which  might  as  well  have  been  omitted ;  one  was  the 
expression,  "  we  make  no  resistance  to  the  execution  of  the 
laws,  national  or  territorial."  Had  they  stopped  at  the 
word  " laws"  leaving  every  person  at  liberty  t<>  reject  as 
laws  the  bogus  enactments,  the  expression  would  have  been 
generally  endorsed.  Also,  the  voluntary  delivery  of  the 
howitzer  to  Jones  was  uncalled  for  and  did  no  good.  With 


MEMORIAL    TO    PRESIDENT.  243 

these   exceptions   the   memorial   is    a   representative  docu- 
ment : 

"  MEMORIAL  TO  THE  PRESIDENT  FROM   INHABITANTS 

OF   KANSAS. 

"  To  his  Excellency  Franklin  Pierce,  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  SlR:  The  undersigned  residents  of  Kansas  Territory,  and  a  com- 
mittee of  the  citizens  of  the  town  of  Lawrence  and  vicinity,  appointed 
to  represent  to  your  Excellency  the  insufferable  wrongs  which  they  are 
called  upon  to  endure  at  the  hands  of  territorial  officials,  and  to  petition 
for  redress  and  prevention  of  the  same. 

"  The  statements  made  in  this  communication  are  of  facts  mostly 
within  our  personal  knowledge,  and  all  of  them  we  are  prepared  at  any 
time  to  substantiate  by  testimony  conclusive  and  unimpeachable. 

"  The  first  of  the  recent  great  outrages  on  the  town  of  Lawrence  of 
which  we  complain  is  the  following  proclamation  of  the  United  States 
Marshal  of  Kansas  Territory  : 

"  '  PROCLAMATION. 

"  '  To  the  People  of  Kansas  Territory  : 

"  '  Whereas,  certain  judicial  writs  of  arrest  have  been  directed  to  me 
by  the  First  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  etc.,  to  be  executed 
within  the  County  of  Douglas  ;  and,  whereas,  an  attempt  to  execute  them 
by  the  United  States  Deputy  Marshal  was  violently  resisted  by  a  large 
number  of  citizens  of  Lawrence ;  and  as  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  any  attempt  to  execute  these  writs  will  be  resisted  by  a  large  body 
of  armed  men : 

'  '  Now,  therefore,  the  law-abiding  citizens  of  the  Territory  are  com- 
manded to  be  and  appear  at  Lecompton  as  soon  as  practicable,  and  in 
numbers  sufficient  for  the  proper  execution  of  the  law. 
' '  Given  under  my  hand,  this  nth  day  of  May,  1856. 

"  '  I.  B.  DOXELSOX, 
"  '  United  States  Marshal  for  Kansas  Territory.' 

"  The  allegations  contained  in  this  proclamation  are  untrue  in  fact, 
as  well  as  grossly  unjust  in  effect  to  the  people  of  Lawrence. 

"  A  demonstration  has  been  made  by  the  Deputy  Marshal  towards 
the  arrest  of  ex-Governor  Reeder,  while  here  in  attendance  on  the  Con- 
gressional Committee ;  but  as  the  latter  demurred  to  the  legality  of  the 
process,  and  denied  the  jurisdiction,  the  attempt  was  not  made.  This 
was  a  circumstance  involving  no  violence  on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of 
Lawrence ;  as  no  posse  was  called  for  by  the  official,  it  is  clear  that  they 
can  in  no  way  be  held  accountable  for  any  of  its  results.  No  actual 


244  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

effort  to  arrest  any  person  in  Lawrence  had  been  made  by  the  Marshal 
previous  to  this  proclamation. 

"  At  this  time  there  were  in  the  Territory  many  hundreds  of  men 
who  had  entered  it  in  organized  companies  from  Southern  States,  actu- 
ated by  an  avowed  political  purpose,  and  proclaiming  a  deadly  hostility 
to  the  town  of  Lawrence.  These  men  were  immediately  enrolled  in  the 
Marshal's  posse,  and  supplied  by  the  Governor  with  arms  belonging  to 
the  United  States,  and  intended  for  the  use  of  the  territorial  militia. 
All  the  facts  warrant  the  belief  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Marshal, 
by  this  proclamation,  to  justify  this  misuse  of  these  national  arms,  and 
to  give,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the  outrages  being  perpetrated  by  these 
companies,  the  sacred  sanction  of  the  law.  Without  this  sanction  it 
was  known  that  these  outrages  would  be  resisted  by  any  and  all  means 
of  defense  in  the  power  of  an  indignant,  and  not  yet  enslaved  people. 
This  posse  of  the  Marshal  was  further  increased  by  accessions  from  the 
neighboring  State  of  Missouri,  and  supplied  from  the  same  source  with 
several  pieces  of  artillery.  Camps  were  formed  at  different  points  along 
the  highways  and  on  the  Kansas  River,  and  peaceful  travellers  subjected 
to  detention,  robbery,  and  insult.  Men  were  stopped  in  the  streets  and 
on  the  open  prairie,  and  bidden  to  stand  and  deliver  their  purses  at  the 
peril  of  their  lives.  Cattle,  provisions,  arms,  and  other  property  were 
taken  wherever  found,  without  consent  of  the  owners.  Men  were 
choked  from  their  horses,  which  were  seized  by  the  marauders,  and 
houses  were  broken  open  and  pillaged  of  their  contents. 

"  Resistance  to  these  Outrages  was  followed  by  further  violence,  and 
in  some  cases  by  the  most  wanton  and  brutal  sacrifice  of  life.  The  pas- 
sage of  the  United  States  mail  was  frequently  interrupted,  and  exam- 
inations made  in  defiance  of  law.  In  the  border  counties  of  Missouri, 
citizens  of  Lawrence  were  seized  without  warrant,  conveyed  to  the  va- 
rious camps,  and  there  subjected  to  detention  and  unlawful  trial,  accom- 
panied by  threats  of  immediate  death. 

"  In  the  meantime  these  alarming  demonstrations  have  excited  appre- 
hension in  the  community,  and  a  letter  was  sent  to  the  Governor  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  '  LAWRENCE  CITY,  May  11,  1856. 

"  '  DEAR  SIR:  The  undersigned  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  com- 
municating to  your  Excellency  the  following  preamble  and  resolution, 
adopted  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  this  place  at  seven  o'clock 
last  evening,  viz.  : 

"  '  Whereas,  We  have  the  most  reliable  information  from  various 
parts  of  the  Territory,  and  the  adjoining  State  of  Missouri,  of  the  or- 
ganization of  guerilla  bands,  who  threaten  the  destruction  of  our  town 
and  its  citizens  :  therefore, 

"  '  Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Topliff,  Hutchinson,  and  Roberts  consti- 


MEMORIAL.  245 

tute  a  committee  to  inform  his  Excellency,  Governor  Shannon,  of  these 
facts,  and  to  call  upon  him,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  Lawrence,  for 
protection  against  such  bands  by  the  United  States  troops  at  his  dis- 
posal. 

"  '  All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted, 

"  '  Very  truly,  etc., 

"  '  C.   W.  TOPLIFF, 

"  '  W.  Y.  ROBERTS, 
"  '  JOHN  HUTCHINSON. 
' ' '  His  Excellency  Wilson  Shannon,  Governor  of  Kansas  Territory. ' 

"  This  letter  drew  forth  the  following  reply: 

"  '  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  LECOMPTON,  K.  T.,  May  12,  1856. 

"  '  GENTLEMEN  :  Your  note  of  the  nth  instant  is  received,  and  in 
reply  I  have  to  state  that  there  is  no  force  around  or  approaching  Law- 
rence except  the  legally  constituted  posse  of  the  United  States  Marshal 
and  Sheriff  of  Douglas  County,  each  of  whom,  I  am  informed,  has  a 
number  of  writs  in  his  hands  for  execution  against  persons  now  in  Law- 
rence. I  shall  in  no  way  interfere  with  either  of  these  officers  in  the 
discharge  of  their  official  duties. 

"  '  If  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  submit  themselves  to  the  territorial 
laws,  and  aid  and  assist  the  Marshal  and  Sheriff  in  the  execution  of  pro- 
cess in  their  hands,  as  all  good  citizens  are  bound  to  do  when  called  on, 
they,  or  all  such,  will  entitle  themselves  to  the  protection  of  the  law. 
But  so  long  as  they  keep  up  a  military  or  armed  organization  to  resist 
the  territorial  laws,  and  the  officers  charged  with  their  execution,  I  shall 
not  interpose  to  save  them  from  legitimate  consequences  of  their  illegal 
acts. 

'  '  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  yours,  with  great  respect, 

"  '  WILSON  SHANNON. 

'"Messrs.  C.  W.  Topli/,  John  Hutchinson,  W.   Y.  Roberts.' 

"  In  commenting  upon  this  letter,  we  have  only  to  say  that  the  im- 
plied charge  upon  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  of  keeping  up  'a  military  or 
armed  organization  to  resist  the  territorial  laws,  and  the  officers  charged 
with  their  executions,' is  utterly  untrue :  and  that  Governor  Shannon 
must  have  been  fully  aware  of  its  falsity,  or  ignorant  to  a  degree  of 
criminality. 

"  The  proclamation  of  the  Marshal  was  not  made  public  by  him  in 
Lawrence ;  but  a  copy  having  by  chance  reached  the  town,  another 
meeting  of  citizens  was  called  on  the  I3th  of  May,  and  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution  adopted  : 

'  '  Whereas,  By  a  proclamation  to  the  people  of  Kansas  Territory, 


246  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

by  I.  B.  Donelson,  United  States  Marshal  for  said  Territory,  issued  the 
nth  day  of  May,  1856,  it  is  alleged  that  certain  "  judicial  writs  of  ar- 
rest have  been  directed  to  him  by  the  First  District  Court  of  the  United 
States,  etc.,  to  be  executed  within  the  County  of  Douglas,  and  that  an 
attempt  to  execute  them  by  the  United  States  Deputy  Marshal  was  vio- 
lently resisted  by  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  Lawrence,  and  that 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  any  attempt  to  execute  these  writs 
will  be  resisted  by  a  large  body  of  armed  men  " ;  therefore, 

"  '  Resolved,  By  this  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Lawrence,  held 
this  I3th  day  of  May,  1856,  that  the  allegations  and  charges  against  us 
contained  in  the  aforesaid  proclamation  are  wholly  untrue  in  fact,  and 
the  conclusion  entirely  false  which  is  drawn  therefrom.  The  aforesaid 
Deputy  Marshal  was  resisted  in  no  manner  whatsoever,  nor  by  any  per- 
son whatever,  in  the  execution  of  said  writs,  except  by  him  whose  ar- 
rest the  said  Deputy  Marshal  was  seeking  to  make.  And  that  we  now, 
as  we  have  done  heretofore,  declare  our  willingness  and  determination, 
without  resistance,  to  acquiesce  in  the  service  upon  us  of  any  judicial 
writs  against  us  by  the  United  States  Marshal  for  Kansas  Territory, 
and  will  furnish  him  a  posse  for  that  purpose,  if  so  requested ;  but  that 
we  are  ready  to  resist,  if  need  be  unto  death,  the  ravages  and  desola- 
tion of  an  invading  mob. 

"  '  J.  A.  WAKEFIEI.D,  President. 

"  'JOHN  HUTCHIXSOX,  Secretary.' 

"  The  indications  of  an  intended  attack  upon  the  town  continuing  to 
increase,  on  the  I4th  instant  another  meeting  of  citizens  was  called,  of 
which  G.  W.  Deitzler  was  president  and  J.  H.  Green  secretary,  and  the 
following  letter  prepared  and  sent  to  the  United  States  Marshal : 

"  '  LAWREXCK,  May  14,  1856. 

"  '  DEAR  SIR:  We  have  seen  a  proclamation  issued  by  yourself, 
dated  nth  May,  instant,  and  also  have  reliable  information  this  morn- 
ing that  large  bodies  of  armed  men,  in  pursuance  of  your  proclamation, 
have  assembled  in  the  vicinity  of  Lawrence. 

"  '  That  there  may  be  no  misunderstanding,  we  beg  leave  to  ask  re- 
spectfully (that  we  may  be  reliably  informed)  what  are  the  demands 
against  us?  We  desire  to  state  most  truthfully  and  earnestly  that  no 
opposition  whatever  will  now,  or  at  any  future  time,  be  offered  to  the 
execution  of  any  legal  process  by  yourself,  or  any  person  acting  for 
you.  We  also  pledge  ourselves  to  assist  you,  if  called  upon,  in  the  exe- 
cution of  any  legal  process. 

"  '  We  declare  ourselves  to  be  order-loving  and  law-abiding  citizens, 
and  only  await  an  opportunity  to  testify  our  fidelity  to  the  laws  of  the 
country,  the  Constitution,  and  the  Union. 


MEMORIAL.  247 

"  '  We  are  informed,  also,  that  those  men  collecting  about  Lawrence 
openly  declare  that  their  intention  is  to  destroy  the  town  and  drive  off 
the  citizens.  Of  course  we  do  not  believe  that  you  give  any  counte- 
nance to  such  threats ;  but,  in  view  of  the  excited  state  of  the  public 
mind,  we  ask  protection  of  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  Govern- 
ment, declaring  ourselves  in  readiness  to  co-operate  with  them,  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  peace,  order,  and  quiet  of  the  community  in  which 
we  live.  Very  respectfully, 

"  '  ROBERT  MORROW, 
"  '  LYMAN  ALLEN, 
"  '  JOHN  HUTCHINSON. 
"  '  /.  B.  Donelson,  United  States  Marshal  for  Kansas  Territory.' 

"  The  following  reply  was  received  to  this  communication : 

"  '  OFFICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  MARSHAL, 

LECOMPTON,  K.  T.,  May  15,  1856. 

"  '  On  yesterday  I  received  a  communication  addressed  to  me,  signed 
by  one  of  you  as  president  and  the  other  as  secretary,  purporting  to 
have  been  adopted  by  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Lawrence,  held  on 
yesterday  morning.  After  speaking  of  a  proclamation  issued  by  myself, 
you  state  "that  there  may  be  no  misunderstanding,  we  beg  leave  to  ask 
respectfully  (that  we  may  be  reliably  informed)  vyhat  are  the  demands 
against  us?  We  desire  most  truthfully  and  earnestly  to  declare,  that  no 
opposition  whatever  will  now,  or  at  any  future  time,  be  offered  to  the 
execution  of  any  legal  process  by  yourself,  or  any  person  acting  for  you. 
We  also  pledge  ourselves  to  assist  you,  if  called  upon,  in  the  execution 
of  any  legal  process,"  etc. 

"  '  From  your  professed  ignorance  of  the  demands  against  you  I  must 
conclude  that  you  are  strangers,  and  not  citizens  of  Lawrence,  or  of  re- 
cent date,  or  have  been  absent  for  some  time ;  more  particularly  when 
an  attempt  was  made  by  my  deputy  to  execute  the  process  of  the  First 
District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  Kansas  Territory  against  ex- 
Governor  Reeder,  when  he  made  a  speech  in  the  room  and  presence  of 
the  Congressional  Committee,  and  denied  the  authority  and  power  of 
said  court,  and  threatened  the  life  of  said  deputy  if  he  attempted  to  exe- 
cute said  process ;  which  speech  and  defiant  threats  were  loudly  ap- 
plauded by  some  one  or  two  hundred  of  the  citizens  of  Lawrence,  who 
had  assembled  at  the  room  on  learning  the  business  of  the  Marshal,  and 
made  such  hostile  demonstrations  that  the  deputy  thought  he  and  his 
small  posse  would  endanger  their  lives  in  executing  said  process. 

"  '  Your  declaration  that  you  "  will  truthfully  and  earnestly  offer  no 
opposition  now,  nor  at  any  future  time,  to  the  execution  of  any  legal 
process,"  etc.,  is,  indeed,  difficult  to  understand.  May  I  ask,  gentle- 


248  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

men,  what  has  produced  this  wonderful  change  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  of  Lawrence?  Have  their  eyes  been  suddenly  opened,  so  that 
they  are  now  able  to  see  that  there  are  laws  in  force  in  Kansas  Terri- 
tory which  should  be  obeyed?  Or  is  it  that  just  now  those  for  whom  I 
have  writs  have  sought  refuge  elsewhere?  Or  it  may  possibly  be,  that 
you  now,  as  heretofore,  expect  to  screen  yourselves  behind  the  word 
"  legal,"  so  significantly  used  by  you.  How  am  I  to  rely  on  your 
pledges,  when  I  am  well  aware  that  the  whole  population  of  Lawrence 
is  armed  and  drilled,  and  the  town  fortified — when  I  recollect  the  meet- 
ings and  resolutions  adopted  in  Lawrence,  and  elsewhere  in  the  Terri- 
tory, openly  defying  the  laws  and  officers  thereof,  and  threatening  to 
resist  the  same  to  a  bloody  issue,  and  recently  verified  in  the  attempted 
assassination  of  Sheriff  Jones  while  in  the  discharge  of  his  official 
duties  in  Lawrence?  Are  you  strangers  to  all  these  things?  Surely 
you  must  be  strangers  at  Lawrence!  If  no  outrages  have  been  com- 
mitted by  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  against  the  laws  of  the  land,  they 
need  not  fear  any  posse  of  mine.  But  I  must  take  the  liberty  of  execut- 
ing all  processes  in  my  hands,  as  the  United  States  Marshal,  in  my  own 
time  and  manner,  and  shall  only  use  such  power  as  is  authorized  by  law. 
You  say  you  call  upon  the  constituted  authority  of  the  Government  for 
protection.  This,  indeed,  sounds  strange  coming  from  a  large  body  of 
men  armed  with  Sharp's  rifles  and  other  implements  of  war,  bound  to- 
gether by  oaths  and  pledges  to  resist  the  laws  of  the  Government  they 
call  on  for  protection.  All  persons  in  Kansas  Territory,  without  regard 
to  location,  who  honestly  submit  to  the  constituted  authorities  will  ever 
find  me  ready  to  aid  in  protecting  them  ;  and  all  who  seek  to  resist  the 
laws  of  the  land  and  turn  traitors  to  their  country  will  find  me  aiding 
and  enforcing  the  laws,  if  not  as  an  officer,  as  a  citizen. 

"  '  Respectfully  yours, 

"  '  I.  H.  DONKI.SON, 

"  '  United  States  Marshal  of  Kansas  Territory. 
"  'Messrs.  Deitzler  and  J.  H.  Green,  I.avroicc,  A".   7'.' 

"  We  should  consider  this  letter  entirely  unworthy  of  criticism  were 
it  not  official.  Its  chief  misstatements,  however,  must  be  corrected, 
and  of  these  we  shall  notice  the  following : 

"  I.  That  ex-Governor  Reeder  threatened  the  life  of  the  Marshal, 
and  was  applauded  therefor  by  the  people  of  Lawrence;  the  fact  bi-ing 
that  the  words  used  by  the  former  can  only  by  forced  construction  be 
made  to  imply  a  threat  against  the  person  of  the  officer;  and  that  the 
Deputy  Marshal  had  no  personal  fear  of  the  citizens  is  proven  by  the 
fact  that  he  frequently,  during  these  difficulties,  entered  the  town,  and 
remained  during  his  pleasure,  without  molestation  or  insult. 

"2.   His  reiteration  of  the  falsehoods  that  the  whole  population  is 


MEMORIAL.  249 

armed  and  drilled,  and  the  town  fortified,  while  he  possessed  evidence 
through  his  deputies  that  such  was  not  the  case.  That  the  so-called 
fortifications  as  there  existing  were  not  considered  formidable  for  de- 
fense is  proven  by  his  subsequent  neglect  to  demolish  them  while  the 
town  was  in  the  hands  of  his  posse. 

"3.  His  wanton  misapplication  of  certain  resolutions  passed  at 
some  other  point  in  the  Territory,  and  having  no  relation  to  the  officers 
of  the  United  States. 

"4.  His  effort  to  fasten  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  Samuel  J. 
Jones  on  the  citizens  of  Lawrence,  when  it  is  a  known  fact  that  said 
citizens  denounced  that  attempt  in  a  most  emphatic  manner,  and  made 
all  practicable  effort  to  detect  its  author. 

"  5.  The  compound  falsehood  that  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  are  a 
large  body  of  men  armed  with  Sharp's  rifles,  bound  together  by  oaths 
and  pledges  to  resist  the  laws  of  the  Government  they  call  on  for  pro- 
tection, it  being  undoubtedly  well  known  to  himself  that  no  such  oaths 
or  pledges  exist,  and  that  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  have  never  been  com- 
bined to  resist  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

"  From  a  reply  thus  disingenuous  and  partisan  in  character,  the 
threatened  town  could  derive  no  hope.  Nevertheless,  as  the  movements 
of  the  marauding  forces  grew  daily  more  menacing  in  their  character, 
the  following  letter  was  sent  to  the  Marshal  on  the  I7th  instant: 

"  '  DEAR  SIR:  We  desire  to  call  your  attention,  as  citizens  of  Kan- 
sas, to  the  fact  that  a  large  force  of  armed  men  have  collected  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Lawrence,  and  are  engaged  in  committing  depredations  upon 
our  citizens,  stopping  wagons,  arresting,  threatening,  and  robbing  un- 
offending travellers  upon  the  highway — breaking  open  boxes  of  mer- 
chandise and  appropriating  their  contents — have  slaughtered  cattle,  and 
terrified  many  of  the  women  and  children. 

' '  '  We  have  also  learned  from  Governor  Shannon  that  there  are  no 
armed  forces  in  the  vicinity  of  this  place  but  the  regularly  constituted 
militia  of  the  Territory.  This  is  to  ask  you  if  you  recognize  them  as 
your  posse,  and  feel  responsible  for  their  acts.  If  you  do  not,  we  hope 
and  trust  you  will  prevent  a  repetition  of  such  acts,  and  give  peace  to 
the  settlers.  On  behalf  of  the  citizens, 

"  '  C.  W.  BABCOCK, 
"  '  LYMAN  ALLEN, 
"  '  J.  A.  PERRY.' 

"  To  this  letter  no  reply  was  vouchsafed.  The  same  day  a  commu- 
nication was  sent  to  the  Governor  by  Messrs.  S.  W.  and  T.  B.  Eldridge, 
proprietors  of  the  Eldridge  House,  asking  for  it  protection  against  de- 
struction threatened  by  the  mob  in  the  Marshal's  posse.  The  building 


250  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

itself  was  the  property  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  but  it  had  been 
furnished  by  the  Messrs.  Eldridge  at  heavy  expense,  and  was  not  yet 
opened  as  a  public  house.  A  verbal  reply  was  returned  by  the  Gov- 
ernor to  this  appeal,  expressing  regret  that  the  proprietors  had  taken 
possession,  and  giving  some  encouragement  for  protection.  On  the 
i8th  he  was  visited  by  the  Messrs.  Eldridge  in  person,  and  a  full  and 
truthful  representation  made  of  all  the  facts  in  the  case.  At  this  inter- 
view, the  Governor,  as  well  as  the  Marshal,  seemed  disposed  to  accord 
the  protection  needful.  In  addition  to  their  own  personal  appeal,  the 
Messrs.  Eldridge  presented  a  communication  from  the  citizens  of  Law- 
rence, as  follows : 

"  '  LAWRENCE,  K.  T.,  May  17,  1856. 

'  '  GENTLEMEN  :  Having  learned  that  your  reason  for  assembling  so 
large  a  force  in  the  vicinity  of  our  town,  to  act  as  a  posse  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws,  rests  on  the  supposition  that  we  are  armed  against 
the  laws  and  the  officers  in  the  exercise  of  their  duties,  we  would  say. 
that  we  hold  our  arms  only  for  our  own^  individual  defense  against  vio- 
lence, and  not  against  the  laws  or  officers  in  the  execution  of  the  same ; 
therefore,  having  no  further  use  for  them  when  our  protection  is  other- 
wise secured,  we  propose  to  deliver  our  arms  to  Colonel  Sumner  so 
soon  as  he  shall  quarter  in  our  town  a  body  of  troops  sufficient  for  our 
protection,  to  be  retained  by  him  as  long  as  such  force  shall  remain 
among  us.  Very  truly,  etc., 

"  '  MANY  CITIZENS. 

"  'His  Excellency  Wilson  Shannon,    Governor,    and   I.    B.    Donclson, 
Esq.,   United  States  Marshal  for  Kansas  Territory.'1 

"  Both  the  Governor  and  the  Marshal  expressed  satisfaction  with  this 
proposition,  and  agreed  to  its  terms  in  case  a  demand  should  be  en- 
forced for  the  surrender  of  the  arms.  If  no  resistance  was  offered  his 
force,  the  Marshal  gave  a  positive  promise  of  protection  to  the  property 
of  the  citizens.  But  it  was  said  that  a  portion  of  the  posse  was  clam- 
orous for  the  destruction  of  the  hotel  and  the  printing  offices ;  and  the 
Messrs.  Eldridge  were  invited  to  return  again  on  the  following  day, 
after  time  had  been  afforded  for  consultation  with  the  captains  of  the 
companies. 

"  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  all  messengers  to  the  Executive  and 
Marshal  were  under  guard  during  the  whole  time  of  their  being  within 
the  lines  of  the  besieging  camp  and  on  the  road  to  Lecompton,  and 
that  the  following  pass  was  given  to  the  Messrs.  Eldridge  on  their  de- 
parture this  day : 

"  '  LECOMITON.  May  18,  1856. 

'  The  bearers  of  this,  S.  W.  and  T.  B.  Eldridge,  desire  to  return  to 
Lawrence  this  evening  and  return  in  the  morning. 


MEMORIAL.  251 

'  '  Now,  therefore,  all  persons  will  permit  these  gentlemen  to  go  and 
return  without  molestation  or  delay. 

"  '  WILSON  SHANNON, 
"  '  Governor  of  Kansas  Territory. 
"  '/.  B.  Donelson,  United  States  Marshal,  Kansas  Territory.' 

"  On  the  I gth  Messrs.  Eldridge  renewed  their  visit  according  to 
agreement,  but  found  a  great  change  in  the  tone  of  the  officials.  It 
would  appear  that  the  companies  composing  the  posse  would  be  satis- 
fied with  nothing  short  of  some  destruction  of  private  property,  and  this 
feeling  was  >o  strong  as  to  defy  the  power  of  the  Marshal.  The  Messrs. 
Eldridge,  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Lawrence,  offered  the  Marshal 
their  services,  and  proposed,  if  he  would  supply  them  with  weapons,  to 
make  all  necessary  pledges  to  sustain  him  in  the  protection  of  property 
and  the  execution  of  the  laws.  This  offer  the  Marshal  did  not  see  lit 
to  accept,  alleging  only  the  excuse  of  a  deficiency  of  arms.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  a  course  of  violence  was  resolved  upon.  One  of  the  captains 
— a  Colonel  Titus,  of  Florida,  a  member  of  the  late  expedition  against 
Cuba — declared  boldly  that  the  printing  presses  must  be  destroyed  to 
satisfy  the  boys  from  South  Carolina.  But  promises  of  protection  to 
the  hotel  were  renewed,  and  the  Marshal  pledged  his  word  that  if  no 
resistance  was  made,  he  would  enter  the  town  with  a  small  posse  of 
unarmed  men,  and  that  the  remainder  should  not  be  admitted.  He  also 
further  promised  not  to  dismiss  them  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town.  The 
incongruities  of  these  various  statements  it  is  not  for  us  to  reconcile. 

"  Feeling  from  ail  these  circumstances  the  necessity  to  the  town  of 
efficient  protection,  the  Messrs.  Eldridge  made  a  last  effort  to  secure  aid 
from  the  Governor.  He  disclaimed  all  authority  over  the  force  of  the 
Marshal,  and  stated  that  he  should  not  interfere  with  the  officer's  opera- 
tions. He  was  implored  to  summon  to  his  aid  the  force  of  Colonel 
Sumner  for  the  protection' of  the  property  of  the  citizens,  but  peremp- 
torily refused.  It  was  represented  to  him  that  the  Marshal's  posse  had 
resolved  on  perpetrating  unlawful  outrages  in  Lawrence,  and  he  said 
the  people  of  Lawrence  must  take  such  consequences  as  should  ensue ; 
that  he  could  protect  them  with  the  United  States  troops  if  he  chose, 
but  that  he  should  not  do  so.  When  apprehensions  were  expressed  to 
him  that  these  outrages  would  finally  madden  the  people  to  the  point 
of  resistance,  and  precipitate  all  the  horrors  of  civil  war,  he  turned  an- 
grily away  and  left  the  room  with  the  expression,  '  War  then  it  is,  by 
God  !  ' 

"  These  were  the  last  words  spoken  to  persons  representing  the 
people  of  Lawrence  by  the  highest  officer  of  the  Territory. 

"  During  the  following  day  the  Deputy  Marshal,  W.  P.  Fain,  a  resi- 
dent of  Calhoun,  Georgia,  visited  the  town,  and  in  conversation  with  a 


252  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

citizen  expressed  the  belief  that  the  printing  presses  would  be  destroyed, 
but  that  the  Eldridge  House  would  be  spared. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  2 1st  instant  a  cavalry  force  was  seen  sta- 
tioned on  a  hill  commanding  the  town.  It  was  soon  increased  by  a 
company  of  artillery  and  another  of  infantry.  A  white  flag  was  first  dis- 
played, which  soon  gave  place  to  a  red  one.  This  emblem  would  have 
incited  the  citizens  to  resistance  but  for  the  known  fact  that  the  force 
was  commanded  by  a  United  States  officer  (whose  pledge  of  protection 
had  been  given)  and  armed  with  national  weapons.  Beside  the  red  flag, 
whose  motto  was  '  Southern  rights,'  soon  floated  that  of  the  Union. 

"  The  Deputy  Marshal  entered  the  town  with  less  than  ten  men,  and 
proceeding  to  the  Eldridge  House,  summoned  both  the  proprietors  to 
act  on  his  posse,  together  with  Dr.  Garvey  (Garvin?),  John  A.  Perry, 
C.  W.  Topliff,  and  Win.  Jones,  all  citizens  of  the  town.  This  sum- 
mons was  promptly  obeyed,  and  all  required  assistance  cheerfully  given. 
Only  two  arrests  were  made  during  the  morning,  and  with  these,  after 
dinner,  the  whole  posse  repaired  to  the  camp.  Colonel  Topliff  was 
charged  with  the  delivery  to  the  Marshal  of  the  following  communica- 
tion: 

"  '  LAWRENCK,  K.  T.,  May  21,  1856. 

"  '  We,  the  committee  of  public  safety  for  the  citizens  of  Lawrence, 
make  this  statement  and  declaration  to  you  as  Marshal  of  Kansas  Ter- 
ritory : 

"  'That  we  represent  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  Kansas 
who  acknowledge  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  Government ;  that 
we  make  no  resistance  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  national  or  terri- 
torial ;  and  that  we  ask  protection  of  the  Government,  and  claim  it  as 
law-abiding  American  citizens. 

"  '  For  the  private  property  already  taken  by  your  posse  we  ask  in- 
demnification, and  what  remains  to  us  and  our  citizens  we  throw  upon 
you  for  protection,  trusting  that  under  the  flag  of  our  Union  and  within 
the  folds  of  the  Constitution  we  may  obtain  safety. 

"  '  SAMUEL  C.  POMEROY, 

"  '  W.   V.    ROHKRTS, 
"  '  LVMAN    Al.I.KN, 

"  'JOHN  A.  PERKY, 
"  '  C.  W.  BABCOCK, 
"  '  S.  B.  PRENTISS, 
"  '  A.  H.  MA i. LORY, 
"  '  JOEL  GROVKR. 
"  '  /.  B.  Donelson,  United  States  Marshal,  Kansas  Territory.' 

"  It  was  now  hoped  that  the  crisis  had  passed.  On  summoning  on 
his  posse  the  proprietors  of  the  Eldridge  House,  Deputy  Marshal  Fain 


MEMORIAL.  253 

had  renewed  his  promise  to  protect  their  property.  The  officials  had 
been  treated  with  every  courtesy,  and  even  generous  hospitality.  But 
by  three  o'clock  the  streets  were  filled  by  a  company  of  armed  horse- 
men, headed  by  Samuel  J.  Jones,  Sheriff  of  Douglas  County,  who  drew 
up  his  force  in  front  of  the  Eldridge  House  and  demanded  of  the  citi- 
zens, in  the  name  of  the  law,  the  surrender  of  their  rifles  and  cannon. 
He  gave  five  minutes  for  a  reply.  He  was  answered  by  General  Pome- 
roy  that  the  cannon,  and  all  rifles  not  individual  property  (if  any  such  there 
were),  would  be  given  up  on  his  giving  an  official  receipt  for  the  same. 
General  .Pomeroy  and  General  Roberts  proceeded  with  him  to  assist  in 
their  delivery.  This  clone,  it  was  announced  that  the  printing  offices  and 
the  Eldridge  House  must  be  destroyed.  Remonstrance  was  in  vain. 

"  In  the  meantime,  the  remainder  of  the  force,  comprising  several 
hundred  men,  with  United  States  muskets  and  fixed  bayonets,  were  tak- 
ing position  in  the  town.  Men  endeavored  by  argument,  and  women 
by  tears,  to  alter  the  determination  of  Jones,  but  in  vain.  At  3:15 
o'clock  he  announced  to  Messrs.  Eldridge  that  he  would  give  them  till 
five  to  remove  their  families  and  furniture  from  the  house.  The  work 
of  pillage  had  already  commenced ;  the  contents  of  the  printing  offices 
were  scattered  in  the  streets,  and  the  red  flag  planted  on  the  roof,  first 
of  the  office  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  and  afterwards  of  the  Eldridge 
House.  The  family  of  Mr.  G.  W.  Brown  were  driven  from  their  home, 
and  the  immediate  pillage  of  the  hotel  prevented  only  by  the  resolute  in- 
terference of  a  few  citizens,  aided  by  some  individuals  of  the  mob,  who 
kept  a  strict  guard  at  the  doors,  and  insisted  that  the  families  of  the  pro- 
prietors should  have  the  time  promised  by  Jones  in  which  to  collect 
their  most  necessary  effects  and  leave.  At  last  the  cannon  were  placed 
and  ready,  and  it  was  announced  to  Colonel  S.  W.  Eldridge  that  the 
bombardment  would  commence  in  five  minutes.  His  wife  and  children, 
and  such  personal  effects  as  they  had  been  enabled  to  collect,  were 
placed  in  carriages  and  driven  off  between  files  of  United  States  bayo- 
nets, and  amidst  the  yells  of  the  impatient  mob.  As  they  left  the  town 
the  first  boom  of  a  cannon  told  that  the  work  of  destruction  had  begun. 
Soon  (as  the  impression  made  by  the  cannon  was  not  great)  the  build- 
ing was  fired,  and  with  the  aid  of  gunpowder  reduced,  with  its  furniture 
and  stores,  to  a  pile  of  ruins. 

"  The  work  of  pillage  spread  through  the  whole  town,  and  continued 
until  after  dark.  Every  house  and  store  which  could  be  entered  was 
ransacked,  trunks  broken  open,  and  money  and  property  taken  at  will. 
Where  women  had  not  fled,  they  were  in  some  cases  insulted,  and  even 
robbed  of  their  clothing.  From  one  house  over  two  thousand  dollars 
in  money  were  carried  away.  The  house  of  Charles  Robinson  was  pil- 
laged and  burned  to  the  ground.  The  same  evening,  forces  were  drawn 
off  to  their  camp,  and  the  sack  of  Lawrence  was  concluded. 


254  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  Some  incidents  of  this  authorized  outrage  here  demand  mention. 
While  Messrs.  Topliff  and  Perry  were  aiding  the  Marshal  in  making 
the  arrests,  both  their  houses  were  broken  open  and  pillaged.  Some  of 
the  flags  which  floated  beside  that  of  the  Union  had  for  mottoes,  '  Su- 
periority of  the  white  race,'  '  Kansas  the  outpost,'  '  South  Carolina'; 
while  one  had  the  national  stripes,  with  a  tiger  in  place  of  the  Union ; 
another  had  alternate  stripes  of  black  and  white.  While  the  cannon 
were  being  placed  for  the  destruction  of  the  Eldridge  House,  David  R. 
Atchison,  late  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  was  conspicuous 
among  the  mob.  When  the  final  doom  of  the  hotel  and  printing  offices 
was  pronounced,  it  was  said  by  the  officials  to  be  by  order  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, as  the  Grand  Jury  of  Douglas  County  had  ordered  them  abated 
as  nuisances.  The  only  charge  against  the  Eldridge  House  was  its 
ownership  by  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company. 

"  To  evade  the  pledge  given  by  the  Marshal  that  he  would  not  allow 
his  posse  to  enter  Lawrence,  they  were  disbanded  by  him,  after  the  ar- 
rests were  made,  and  enrolled  as  a  sheriff's  posse  by  Samuel  J.  Jones  ; 
the  Marshal  thus  keeping  one  pledge  at  the  expense  of  another.  On 
the  next  day  they  were  again  enrolled  as  the  posse  of  the  Marshal. 

"  There  are  also  some  facts  of  another  character  which  we  wi>h  to 
record.  We  believe  that  many  of  the  captains  of  the  invading  com- 
panies exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  for  the  protection  of  life  and 
property.  Some  of  them  protested  against  these  enormous  outrages, 
and  endeavored  to  dissuade  Samuel  J.  Jones  from  their  perpetration. 
Many  used  personal  effort  to  remove  such  property  as  was  possible  from 
the  Eldridge  House  before  its  destruction.  Among  these  stood  promi- 
nently Colonel  Zadock  Jackson,  of  Georgia,  who  did  not  scruple  either 
in  Lawrence  or  his  own  camp  to  denounce  the  outrages  in  terms  such 
as  they  deserved.  Colonel  Buford,  of  Alabama,  also  disclaimed  having 
come  to  Kansas  to  destroy  property,  and  condemned  the  course  which 
had  been  taken.  The  prosecuting  attorney  of  Douglas  County,  the 
legal  adviser  of  the  Sheriff,  used  his  influence  in  vain  to  prevent  the  de- 
struction of  property. 

"  We  have  thus  given  an  outline  of  the  events  which  have  concluded 
an  unparalleled  chapter  in  the  history  of  our  country.  That  we  have 
dealt  mildly  with  the  facts,  and  fallen  short  of  the  real  atrocity  of  the 
case,  will  be  proven  by  the  testimony  which,  in  time,  public  opinion 
will  not  fail  to  gather.  So  gigantic  is  that  official  villainy  of  which  we 
are  being  made  the  victims  that  the  understanding  almost  refuses  to 
believe  the  evidence,  however  strong.  That  any  set  of  men  in  a  repre- 
sentative Government  like  ours  can  be  so  reckless,  and  so  defiant  of 
right,  as  to  attempt  the  administration  of  law  on  principles  of  perjury 
and  brigandage  is  a  combination  of  fatuity  and  corruption  almost  pass- 
ing belief.  Yet  the  facts  spring  out  with  startling  boldness  on  the  pict- 


MEMORIAL.  255 

ure  of  events,  and  we  see  the  spectacle  of  rulers  utterly  ignoring  the 
oaths  they  have  taken,  and  perverting  the  beneficent  power  of  govern- 
ment to  the  base  uses  of  a  ruthless  despotism — at  will  despoiling  men 
of  their  property  and  lives — endeavoring  to  bind  fast  the  hands  of  the 
loyal  citizens  who  look  to  them  for  protection,  and  to  deliver  them  over 
as  bondmen  to  an  invading  force.  We  cannot  but  feel  that  you  will  be 
slow  to  believe  facts  such  as  we  have  stated  here,  and  for  the  credit  of 
humanity  we  cannot  otherwise  hope ;  yet  we  cherish  the  trust  that  you 
will  heed  the  voice,  however  feeble,  that  pours  its  complaint  into  your 
ear,  and  exert  the  influence  of  your  office  to  prevent  the  possible  occur- 
rence of  abuses  of  power  on  the  parts  of  those  officials  who  are  directly 
responsible  to  you  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duties  ;  and  to  insti- 
tute such  a  scrutiny  into  their  past  conduct  as  will  reveal  its  true  charac- 
ter and  inspire  a  salutary  caution  in  future.  In  making  such  a  scrutiny 
it  seems  to  us  inevitable  that  the  communications  of  the  territorial  of- 
ficers of  Kansas,  as  given  in  this  memorial,  coupled  with  the  undisputed 
facts  resulting  from  their  action,  will  show  at  least  a  criminal  disregard 
of  good  faith  sufficient  of  itself  to  prove  their  unfitness  for  the  responsi- 
bilities they  have  assumed.  And  in  the  meantime  we  have  been  driven 
to  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  protection,  whose  duty  it  will  be 
to  organize  and  use  all  means  for  the  defense  of  our  liberties  and  prop- 
erty, during  such  time  as  we  are  unable  to  procure  protection  from  the 
Government  under  which  we  live. 

"As  regards  the  pecuniary  damage  sustained  by  this  community  at 
the  hand  of  the  Government  as  administered  by  these  officials,  we  can- 
not doubt  but  you  will  see  the  justice  of  our  claim,  and  employ  the  in- 
fluence of  your  position  to  procure  for  us  an  adequate  compensation. 
The  readiest  way  to  do  this  would  seem  to  be  by  an  appropriation  by 
Congress,  which  it  is  within  your  province  to  recommend.  It  is  at 
present  impossible  to  estimate  this  damage,  as  new  depredations  are 
continually  being  made.  How  long  these  will  be  permitted  to  continue 
will  depend  to  a  great  extent  upon  the  pleasure  of  our  rulers.  But  it  is 
certain  that  the  amount  is,  even  at  present,  for  a  community  like  ours 
very  great.  The  loss  to  the  proprietor  of  the  Eldridge  House  alone  is 
to  nearly  the  full  extent  of  their  investments,  time  being  denied  them  to 
remove  any  material  portion  of  the  costly  furniture  and  abundant  stores 
provided  for  its  use.  The  destruction  of  the  printing  offices,  like  that 
of  the  hotel,  involves  not  only  the  cost  of  the  property,  but  the  complete 
ruin  of  the  business  in  which  it  was  employed.  And  then  there  is 
scarcely  a  freeholder  in  Lawrence,  or  for  many  miles  around,  but  has 
had  costly  experience  of  that  depredatory  action  which  the  Marshal  in 
his  proclamation  has  called  '  the  proper  execution  of  the  law.' 

"  Were  the  destruction  of  property,  however,  the  gravest  result  of 
this  mal-administration,  it  would  be  shorn  of  its  chief  importance.  But 


256  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  among  ts  consequences  has  been  loss  of 
life,  and  it  is  due  to  the  community  that  justice  be  administered  upon 
those  who  caused  it.  And  surely  when  we  say  to  your  Excellency  that 
our  country  is  still  being  overrun,  and  that  this  very  day  has  brought  to 
our  ears  the  fresh  complaints  of  property  taken,  and  women  ravished  in 
their  homes,  it  will  not  be  considered  either  disrespectful  or  ill-timed  in 
us  to  urge,  with  all  the  earnestness  of  men  who  know  the  truth  of  the 
things  whereof  they  speak,  that  the  facts  herein  set  forth,  and  the  peti- 
tions preferred,  receive  the  earliest  attention  in  the  power  of  your  Excel- 
lency to  bestow. 

"  O.  E.  LEARN ARD, 
"  S.  W.  ELDRIDGE, 
"C.  W.  BABCOCK, 

"  J.    M.   Wl.NCHELL, 

"  LYMAN  ALLEN, 
"  S.  B.  PRENTISS, 
"  L.  G.  HINK, 
"  JOSEPH  CRACKLIN, 
"  JOHN  PERRY. 
"  LAWRENCE,  K.  T.,  May  22,  1856." 

Here  is  an  arraignment  of  the  Government  more  terrible 
than  an  "  army  with  banners."  The  indictment  of  the 
Slave-State  party  had  been  made  on  paper  and  sent  broad- 
cast over  the  land — the  invasions  at  elections,  the  despotic 
code  enacted,  the  Wakarusa  war  and  general  lawlessness — 
but  here  is  the  conviction  of  official  crime  before  the  Ameri- 
can people  as  a  jury,  and  the  verdict  was  unanimous.  The 
Wakarusa  war  was  a  great  victory,  but  this  was  much 
greater  ;  as  the  first  simply  resulted  in  compelling  nearly  two 
thousand  men  to  march  to  Kansas  and  then  march  back  again, 
accomplishing  nothing,  not  even  serving  a  peace  warrant 
issued  by  a  bogus  justice  of  the  peace,  while  this  demon- 
strated the  nature  of  the  Government  imposed  upon  Ameri- 
can citizens  in  Kansas.  Here  were  the  law-abiding  citizens, 
having  committed  no  crime,  ready  to  act  as  a  posse  to  ferret 
out  and  arrest  criminals,  if  any  there  were,  almost  on  their 
knees  as  suppliants  for  protection  from  outrage  by  an 
official  mob,  without  avail.  The  picture  cannot  be  dupli- 
cated in  the  most  despotic  government  on  earth.  Did  the 


POLICY    ADOPTED.  257 

people  do  right  in  permitting  this  official  infamy  without 
resistance  f  F.  B.  Sanborn  says  no.  His  two  heroes,  Brown 
and  Lane,  might  have  said  no,  had  they  been  present  and 
not  timid,  judging  them  by  their  designs  at  the  Wakarusa 
war.  But  when  it  is  remembered  that  this  struggle  was 
national  and  not  local  merely,  that  the  Federal  authority  was 
desirous  of  abetting  the  Slave-State  party,  and  of  crushing 
out  the  Free-State  men,  that  this  Government  had  to  be 
held  up  before  the  country  in  its  true  light,  the  answer  must 
be  in  the  affirmative.  Had  this  mob  been  unofficial,  could 
it  have  been  attacked  without  attacking  Federal  authority, 
as  was  the  case  at  Osawatomie,  Franklin,  Fort  Saunders, 
and  Titus,  it  would  have  been  utterly  wiped  out  by  the  men 
who  were  at  Lawrence,  who  much  preferred  to  fight  rather 
than  submit  passively  to  insults  from  this  official  mob.  In 
the  estimation  of  the  world,  these  men  showed  more  true 
courage  and  heroism  than  even  when  Titus'  fort  was  after- 
wards taken  within  sight  of  the  Federal  army.  Suppose,  for 
a  moment,  Sanborn's  policy  had  been  adopted — this  hero 
who,  although  an  accomplice  with  Brown  in  Harper's  Ferry 
raid,  was  at  a  safe  distance  from  harm  in  Massachusetts 
when  the  fight  came  off,  and  at  a  safer  distance  in  Canada 
when  the  accomplices  were  being  picked  up — suppose  an 
excuse  had  been  given  by  armed  resistance  to  enter  Law- 
rence, the  Administration  would  have  been  vindicated  in  its 
assumptions  that  the  Free-State  men  were  rebels  to  Federal 
authority.  And  even  the  burning  and  pillage  of  the  entire 
town  would  have  been  regarded  as  the  merited  punishment 
of  a  nest  of  traitors.  That  success,  if  possible  for  the 
moment,  would  have  lasted  only  till  Colonel  Sumner  could 
have  reached  Lawrence  with  his  soldiers,  all  men  of  ordinary 
intelligence  must  know.  In  such  a  -case,  instead  of  the 
approbation  and  sympathy  of  all  good  people  everywhere, 
the  Free-State  men  and  cause  would  have  been  abandoned 
by  all  its  friends  at  home  and  abroad,  and  from  that  moment, 

hanging  of  traitors — real  traitors — and  the  expulsion  of  all 
17 


258  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

remnants  of  anti-slavery  would  have  been  the  congenial 
work  of  the  Atchisons,  Stringfellows,  and  their  allies  of  the 
Slave-State  party.  Besides,  in  no  other  way  could  the 
infamy  of  the  territorial  usurpation  be  so  conclusively  dem- 
onstrated as  by  the  official  destruction  of  printing  presses 
and  hotels  as  nuisances,  without  trial  or  hearing  of  any  kind. 
As  in  the  Wakarusa  war,  so  in  this  case,  the  pro-slavery 
men  were  divided  in  counsel.  Some  were  conservative  and 
some  ultra.  Governor  Shannon  and  the  President  were 
opposed  to  the  Marshal's  employment  of  civilians,  but  the 
Marshal  was  controlled  by  the  fire-eaters.  Governor  Reeder, 
in  hiding  at  Kansas  City  during  this  invasion,  in  his  diary 
under  date  of  May  isth,  six  days  before  the  serving  of  the 
writs,  refers  to  this  division  of  sentiment  as  follows : 

"  He  [Colonel  Coates]  says,  also,  that  Donelson,  the  Marshal,  has  is- 
.  sued  a  proclamation  calling  for  a  force,  and  reciting  generally  that  he 
has  writs  against  sundry  citizens  of  Lawrence.  He  says  also,  on  the 
authority  of  Colonel  Sumner,  that  Shannon  had  become  alarmed,  but 
was  powerless,  and  no  better  than  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  those  around 
him ;  that  he  had  essayed  to  take  into  his  own  hands  the  collection  of  a 
posse,  but  the  Marshal  would  not  allow  it ;  that  he  had  insisted  that 
Donelson  should  not  accept  the  service  of  any  Missourians,  to  which  a 
reluctant  assent  was  given,  but  that  this  was  a  mere  evasion,  and  that 
there  were  camps  of  Missourians  now  in  the  Territory  who  called  them- 
selves Georgians,  as  was  learned  from  a  man  by  the  name  of  Wise,  who 
was  in  the  camp.  There  have  come  to  the  Territory  this  spring  some 
three  or  four  hundred  young  men,  including  Bulord's  party,  who  evi- 
dently came  here  to  fight,  and  whose  leaders  probably  understood  the 
whole  programme  before  they  left  home. 

"  Under  cover  of  these  men  and  assuming  their  name  and  character, 
the  citizens  of  Missouri  will  doubtless  come  over.  Mr.  Coates  also 
says,  on  authority  of  Colonel  Sumner,  that  Shannon  has  actually  fled 
the  country,  under  pretense  of  business,  to  avoid  the  storm  which  he 
cannot  control  and  dare  not  face.  Also,  that  our  friends  at  Lawrence 
sent  a  messenger  (Captain  Walker)  to  Shannon,  with  a  letter  request- 
ing him  to  order  out  the  troops  for  the  defense  of  the  town  :  that  W:;lk«T 
had  difficulty  to  get  into  town,  and  was  compelled  to  conceal  himself, 
and  send  in  another  person ;  that  he  was  recognized  and  fired  at,  but 
not  hit.  Shannon's  reply  was  written  while  surrounded  by  the  ultra 
men  about  him,  and  was  evasive  and  unsatisfactory.  Also,  that  the  at- 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  POSITION.  259 

tack  was  fixed  for  to-morrow  evening.     This  is  most  alarming  news, 
and  I  tremble  for  our  people." 

Governor  Shannon,  in  his  letter  to  the  President,  under 
date  of  June  iyth,  said :  "  I  have  already  stated  my  opinion 
as  to  the  utter  impossibility  of  preserving  order  or  prevent- 
ing civil  war  by  means  of  the  militia  of  the  Territory.  Their 
use  would  lead  to  a  contrary  result." 

The  position  and  solicitude  of  the  President  may  be  seen 
by  reference  to  his  dispatches  to  Governor  Shannon  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  May  23,  1856. 

"  Has  the  United  States  Marshal  proceeded  to  Lawrence  to  execute 
civil  process?  Has  military  force  been  found  necessary  to  maintain  civil 
government  in  Kansas?  If  so,  have  you  relied  solely  upon  troops  under 
the  command  of  Colonels  Sumner  and  Cooke?  If  otherwise,  state  the 
reasons.  The  laws  must  be  executed ;  but  military  force  should  not  be 
employed  until  after  the  Marshal  has  met  with  actual  resistance  in  the 
fulfillment  of  his  duty. 

"  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

"Wilson    Shannon,    Governor  of  Kansas,   Lecompton,  Kansas   Terri- 
tory." 

"  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  May  23,  1856. 

"  Since  my  telegraph  of  this  morning  was  sent,  the  Secretary  of  War 
has  laid  before  me  Colonel  Sumner's  letter  to  you  of  the  I2th  instant. 
His  suggestion  strikes  me  as  wise  and  prudent.  I  hope  that  before  this 
reaches  you  decisive  measures  will  have  been  taken  to  have  the  process 
in  the  hands  of  the  Marshal  quietly  executed.  My  knowledge  of  facts 
is  imperfect ;  but  with  the  force  of  Colonel  Sumner  at  hand,  I  perceive 
no  occasion  for  the  posse,  armed  or  unarmed,  which  the  Marshal  is  said 
to  have  assembled  at  Lecompton.  The  instructions  issued  to  yourself 
and  Colonel  Sumner  during  your  last  visit  to  this  city  must  be  efficiently 
executed.  Sufficient  power  was  committed  to  you,  and  you  must  use  it. 

"  Obedience  to  the  laws  and  consequent  security  to  the  citizens  of 
Kansas  are  the  primary  objects. 

"  You  must  repress  lawless  violence  in  whatever  form  it  may  mani- 
fest itself. 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE." 

"  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  June  6,  1856. 

"  Were  my  dispatches  of  May  23d  received  by  yourself  or  Colonel 
Sumner?  If  they  were,  why  have  they  not  been  acknowledged?  Con- 
fused and  contradictory  accounts  continue  to  reach  me  of  scenes  of  dis- 


260  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

order  and  violence  in  Kansas.  If  the  civil  authorities,  sustained  by  the 
military  force  under  the  command  of  Colonels  Sumner  and  Cooke  placed 
at  your  disposal,  are  not  sufficient  to  maintain  order  and  afford  protec- 
tion to  peaceable  and  law-abiding  citizens,  you  should  have  advised  me  at 
once.  I  hardly  need  repeat  the  instructions  so  often  given.  Maintain 
the  laws  firmly  and  impartially,  and  take  care  that  no  good  citizen  has 
just  ground  to  complain  of  the  want  of  protection. 

"  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

"Hon.  Wilson  Shannon  (care  of  Colonel  Sumner),  fort  Leavcnu'orth, 
Kansas  Territory." 

Governor  Shannon,  in  his  letter  to  the  President,  May 
3ist,  says:  "Had  the  Marshal  called  on  me  for  a  posse,  I 
should  have  felt  myself  bound  to  furnish  him  with  one  com- 
posed entirely  of  United  States  troops.  Knowing  this  to  be 
the  case,  and  feeling  satisfied  that,  with  a  posse  composed  of 
such  troops,  the  parties  to  be  arrested  would  evade  the 
service  of  process,  he  determined,  by  virtue  of  the  legal 
powers  vested  in  him  as  Marshal,  to  summon  his  own  posse 
from  the  citizens  of  the  Territory." 

It  will  be  seen  that  Governor  Shannon  has  more  than 
once  unwittingly  conceded  that  the  Free-State  policy  was  more 
than  a  match  for  the  Government.  As  before  quoted,  in  his 
letter  to  Secretary  of  State  Marcy,  dated  April  27,  1856,  he 
says :  "  It  will  be  obvious  to  the  President  that,  if  every 
officer  of  the  Government  charged  with  the  execution  of 
legal  process,  issued  under,  and  to  enforce  the  territorial 
laws,  is  compelled  to  call  on  a  military  posse  of  United 
States  troops  to  aid  in  executing  the  law,  the  territorial 
government  will  be  practically  nullified." 

Take  this  in  connection  with  this  statement  to  the  Presi- 
dent on  June  17,  1856  :  "  I  have  already  stated  my  opinion 
as  to  the  utter  impossibility  of  preserving  order  or  prevent- 
ing civil  war  by  means  of  the  militia  of  the  Territory.  Their 
use  would  lead  to  a  contrary  result."  And  this  from  his 
letter  to  the  President  dated  December  11,  1855,  immedi- 
ately after  the  Wakarusa  war:  "The  militia  or  volunteer 
corps  cannot  be  relied  on  to  preserve  the  peace  in  these  civil 


SUCCESS    OF    FREE-STATE    POLICY.  26 1 

party  contests,  or  where  partisans  are  concerned.  A  call  on 
the  militia  will  generally  bring  in  conflict  the  two  parties. 
I  am  satisfied  that  the  only  forces  that  can  be  used  in  this 
Territory  in  enforcing  the  laws,  or  preserving  the  peace,  are 
those  of  the  United  States  "  ;  and  yet,  should  this  course  be 
adopted,  according  to  his  letter  of  April  27,  1856,  "  the  terri- 
torial Government  will  be  practically  nullified." 

Now,  the  Free-State  men  had  been  able  to  study  this  all 
out  in  advance,  and  before  they  sent  for  the  first  installment 
of  Sharp's  rifles.  Several  of  them  had  been  through  the 
same  process  in  California,  and  knew  what  "thwarting, 
baffling,  and  circumventing  "  could  accomplish.  But  it  took 
the  Administration  more  than  a  year,  till  September,  1856, 
to  learn  by  bitter  experience  what  the  Free-State  men  stud- 
ied out  soon  after  the  3oth  of  March,  1855. 

About  the  time  that  Robinson  started  East,  steps  were 
taken  to  arrest  Governor  Reeder,  who  was  in  attendance 
upon  the  Congressional  Committee.  He  plead  his  privilege 
from  arrest  as  Member  of  Congress,  but  it  was  ineffectual. 
He  then  refused  to  be  arrested,  and  told  the  Deputy  Mar- 
shal that  if  he  attempted  it,  he  would  do  so  at  his  peril. 
But  Governor  Reeder's  friends,  seeing  that  his  presence 
would  precipitate  a  conflict  with  Federal  authority,  or  result 
in  his  being  held  a  prisoner,  advised  that  he  should  visit  the 
States  and  Washington.  He  reached  Kansas  City,  where 
he  remained  concealed  for  about  two  weeks,  when  he  es- 
caped, and  arrived  in  Illinois. 

Mrs.  Robinson,  after  the  arrest  at  Lexington,  was  per- 
mitted to  go  on  her  journey.  She  met  Governor  Chase,  of 
Columbus ;  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  of  Boston ;  H.  B.  Claflin, 
of  Xew  York,  and  such  men  as  Lovejoy,  Arnold,  Browning, 
Medill,  Ray,  Lincoln,  and  Brown,  of  Illinois.  To  these 
people  she  explained  the  situation  in  Kansas.  Mr.  Law- 
rence at  once  set  about  procuring  petitions,  for  calling  to- 
gether Northern  Legislatures,  and  drew  up  a  remonstrance 
to  the  President,  to  be  signed  by  Northern  governors.  Mrs. 


262  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

R.  attended  the  State  convention  at  Bloomington,  Illinois, 
at  which  Governor  Reeder  appeared,  fresh  from  his  conceal- 
ment at  Kansas  City.  J.  S.  Emery  was  also  at  this  conven- 
tion. The  appearance  of  Reeder  created  the  wildest  enthu- 
siasm. In  a  word,  the  invasion  of  Lawrence  on  the  2ist 
of  May  by  Federal  authority,  with  the  official  destruction 
of  the  best  hotel  west  of  St.  Louis  and  two  printing  offices, 
fired  the  whole  North.  It  did  more  to  arouse  the  people 
•than  Robinson,  had  he  been  permitted  to  go  on  his  mission, 
could  have  done  in  a  year.  It  was  seized  upon  by  the  Re- 
publican party  as  its  special  campaign  thunder,  and  it  rever- 
berated all  along  the  political  skies  from  Maine  to  California. 
A  convention  was  held  at  Buffalo,  which  organized  a 
National  Relief  Committee,  with  headquarters  at  Chicago, 
and  Thaddeus  Hyatt,  of  New  York,  was  made  President. 
This  convention  appointed  Eli  Thayer  a  committee  of  one 
to  organize  the  entire  North  in  the  interest  of  free  Kansas. 
Also,  other  large  organizations,  besides  the  National,  were 
effected,  among  them  the  Massachusetts,  of  which  George 
L.  Stearns  was  chairman,  and  F.  B.  Sanborn  became  secre- 
tary. Many  of  the  Kansas  settlers  took  the  field  in  the 
States,  among  others  Lane,  Emery,  Con  way,  Schuyler,  Hol- 
liday,  Roberts,  Smith,  Wood,  and  others.  Thus  the  Slave- 
State  party  did  immeasurably  more  for  their  opponents  than 
their  opponents  could  have  done  for  themselves.  Men  and 
money  from  this  time  were  raised  with  the  greatest  ease  for 
the  purpose  of  rebuking  this  tyranny,  and  making  sure  a 
free  State  in  Kansas.  Even  the  Slave-State  men  were  far 
from  jubilant  over  their  conduct.  The  memorial  to  the 
President,  as  above  quoted,  makes  this  honorable  mention : 

"  There  are  also  some  facts  of  another  character  which  we  wish  to 
record.  We  believe  that  many  of  the  captains  of  the  invading  com- 
panies exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  for  the  protection  of  life  and 
property.  Some  of  them  protested  against  these  enormous  outrages, 
and  endeavored  to  dissuade  Samuel  J.  Jones  from  their  perpetration. 
Many  used  personal  effort  to  remove  such  property  as  wa>  possible  from 
the  Eldridge  House  before  its  destruction.  Among  these  stood  promi- 


SLAVE-STATE    MEN    DIVIDED.  263 

nently  Colonel  Zadock  Jackson,  of  Georgia,  who  did  not  scruple,  either 
in  Lawrence  or  his  own  camp,  to  denounce  the  outrages  in  terms  such 
as  they  deserved.  Colonel  Buford,  of  Alabama,  also  disclaimed  having 
come  to  Kansas  to  destroy  property,  and  condemned  the  course  which 
had  been  taken.  The  prosecuting  attorney  of  Douglas  County,  the  legal 
advisor  of  the  Sheriff,  used  his  influence  in  vain  to  prevent  the  destruc- 
tion of  property." 

Thus,  not  only  was  their  pretended  victory  a  most  disas- 
trous defeat  before  the  country,  but  it  served  to  alienate  many 
of  their  allies,  men  who  were  supposed  to  be  unscrupulous  in 
the  work  of  establishing  slavery  in  Kansas. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  the  Marshal's  posse, 
after  the  execution  of  pretended  writs  by  the  destruction  of 
innocent  property  departed,  singly  or  in  squads,  to  their 
homes  in  Missouri.  So  far,  the  record  of  the  Free-State 
men  was  without  a  blot  or  blemish  of  any  kind,  and  was 
universally  applauded.  Up  to  this  point  no  Federal  official 
had  been  resisted  or  threatened,  and  no  crime  had  been 
committed'.  Their  friends  on  the  stump,  in  the  press,  or  else- 
where, had  no  mistakes  to  explain,  and  no  apologies  to 
make.  Even  the  pro-slavery  party,  including  the  Admin- 
istration, could  point  to  no  crimes  except  the  crime  of  enter- 
taining opinions  and  expressing  them.  The  battle,  to  all 
appearances,  was  fought  to  the  finish,  and  won  by  the  Free- 
State  party.  Governor  Shannon  was  satisfied,  in  the  fall 
before,  that  no  militia  could  ever  be  used  in  Kansas,  and  he 
never  would  use  it.  Also,  he  had  admitted  that  the  policy 
of  the  Free-State  men,  of  compelling  the  use  of  the  army  to 
enforce  peace  warrants,  "  practically  nullified  "  the  territorial 
Government ;  and  now  the  Marshal  had  had  an  experience 
he  would  not  forget,  or,  if  he  should  forget  it,  the  President 
would  most  surely  remind  him  of  it.  What  more  could 
be  done-by  the  Slave  State  men?  Nothing  whatever  that 
could  seriously  annoy  their  antagonists.  They  could  not 
enter  upon  a  course  of  lawlessness,  for  the  Administration 
was  responsible  for  the  peace  of  the  Territory,  and  could 


264  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

not  afford  to  have  its  own  adherents  bring  discredit  upon 
the  Government.  Fortunately  for  the  Slave-State  party, 
there  was  one  man  among  the  Free-State  men  as  sorely  dis- 
appointed at  the  result  as  they  were.  This  was  John  Brown. 
He  had  come  to  Kansas  "  not  to  settle  "  or  "  speculate  " — or 
from  idle  curiosity ;  but  for  one  stern,  solitary  purpose — to 
have  a  shot  at  the  South."  (Redpath,  in  "  Roving  Editor.") 
But  that  "  shot  at  the  South  "  was  not  the  making  of  a  free 
State  in  Kansas,  according  to  the  plan  of  the  Free-State 
party,  but  the  engaging  the  country  in  a  civil  war.  This  is 
abundantly  shown  by  his  biographer,  James  Redpath. 
When  he  arrived  at  Lawrence,  near  the  close  of  the  Waka- 
rusa  war,  he  was  given  the  command  of  a  company,  and 
Redpath,  on  page  86  of  his  "  Life  of  Captain  John  Brown," 
quotes  an  eye-witness  as  saying:  "From  that  moment  he 
commenced  fomenting  difficulties  in  camp,  disregarding  the 
command  of  superior  officers,  and  trying  to  induce  the  men 
to  go  down  to  Franklin,  and  make  an  attack  upon  the  pro- 
slavery  forces  encamped  there.  The  Committee  of  Public 
Safety  were  called  upon  several  times  to  head  off  his  wild 
adventure,  as  the  people  of  Lawrence  had  planted  them- 
selves on  the  law,  claiming  that  they  had  not  been  guilty 
of  its  infraction,  and  that  no  armed  body  of  men  should 
enter  the  town  for  any  purpose  whatever,  and  that  they 
would  not  go  out  of  town  to  attack  any  such  body.  Peace 
was  established,  and  Old  Brown  retired  in  disgust." 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  POTAWATOMIE   MASSACRE  AND   ITS   EFFECTS. A  GUER- 
RILLA   WAR. DISPERSION    OF    THE    STATE    LEGISLATURE. 

ARRIVAL    OF    LANE    AND    BROWN. 

THIS  decisive  victory  over  the  Slave-State  party  was 
achieved  May  21,  1856,  and  to  all  appearance  it  was  final, 
as  neither  the  Governor's  militia  nor  Marshal's  posse  would 
ever  be  called  upon  again,  and  the  United  States  soldiers 
were  perfectly  harmless  in  their  attempts  to  foist  upon  the 
people  the  territorial  usurpation.  Nothing  remained  but  to 
fill  up  the  Territory  with  bona  fide  settlers,  and  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  Government  at  the  election  of  the  Legislature, 
when  the  day  should  arrive. 

But  now  came  a  new  conflict,  inaugurated  by  John  Brown. 
As  his  friends  and  foes  alike  have  conceded  that  the  tes- 
timony of  James  Townsley  is  trustworthy,  extracts  from  it 
are  here  given,  in  order  to  show  the  nature  of  the  war  to 
be  waged  henceforth.  This  testimony  was  taken  by  John 
Hutchings,  an  able  lawyer  of  Lawrence,  and  some  of  it  is  as 
follows : 

"  I  joined  the  Potavvatomie  rifle  company  at  its  re-organization  in 
May,  1856,  at  which  time  John  Brown,  Jr.,  was  elected  captain.  On 
the  2 1st  of  the  same  month  information  was  received  that  the  Georgians 
were  marching  on  Lawrence,  threatening  its  destruction.  The  com- 
pany was  immediately  called  together,  and  about  four  o'clock  P.M.  we 
started  on  a  forced  march  to  aid  in  its  defense.  About  two  miles 
south  of  Middle  Creek  we  were  joined  by  the  Osawatomie  company 
under  Captain  Dayton,  and  proceeded  to  Mount  Vernon,  where  we 
waited  about  two  hours,  until  the  moon  rose.  We  then  marched 
all  night,  camping  the  next  morning,  the  22d,  for  breakfast,  near  Ot- 
tawa Jones's.  Before  we  arrived  at  this  point  news  had  been  received 


266  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

that  Lawrence  had  been  destroyed,  and  a  question  was  raised  whether 
we  should  return  or  go  on.  During  the  forenoon,  however,  we  pro- 
ceeded up  Ottawa  Creek  to  within  about  five  miles  of  Palmyra,  and 
went  into  camp  near  the  residence  of  Captain  Shore.  Here  we  re- 
mained undecided  over  night.  About  noon  the  next  day,  the  23d,  Old 
John  Brown  came  to  me  and  said  he  had  just  received  information  that 
trouble  was  expected  on  the  Potawatomie,  and  wanted  to  know  if  I 
would  take  my  team  and  take  him  and  his  boys  back,  so  they  could  keep 
watch  of  what  was  going  on.  I  told  him  I  would  do  so.  The  party, 
consisting  of  Old  John  Brown,  Watson  Brown,  Oliver  Brown,  Henry 
Thompson  (John  Brown's  son-in-law),  and  Mr.  Winer,  were  soon  ready 
for  the  trip,  and  we  started,  as  near  as  I  can  rememreber,  about  two 
o'clock  P.M.  All  of  the  party  except  Winer,  who  rode  a  pony,  rode 
with  me  in  my  wagon.  When  within  two  or  three  miles  of  the  Pota- 
watomie Creek,  we  turned  off  the  main  road  to  the  right,  drove  down 
to  the  edge  of  the  timber  between  two  deep  ravines,  and  camped  about 
one  mile  above  Dutch  Henry's  crossing. 

"  After  my  team  was  fed  and  the  party  had  taken  supper,  John  Brown 
told  me  for  the  first  time  what  he  proposed  to  do.  He  said  he  wanted 
me  to  pilot  the  company  up  to  the  forks  of  the  creek,  some  five  or  six 
miles  above,  into  the  neighborhood  where  I  lived,  and  show  them  where 
all  the  pro-slavery  men  resided ;  that  he  proposed  to  sweep  the  creek  as 
he  came  down  of  all  the  pro-slavery  men  living  on  it.  I  positively  re- 
fused to  do  it.  He  insisted  upon  it,  but  when  he  found  that  I  would 
not  go,  he  decided  to  postpone  the  expedition  until  the  following  night. 
I  then  wanted  to  take  my  team  and  go  home,  but  he  would  not  let  me 
do  so,  and  said  I  should  remain  with  them.  We  remained  in  camp  that 
night  and  all  the  next  day.  Some  time  after  dark  we  were  ordered  to 
march. 

"  We  started,  the  whole  company,  in  a  northerly  direction,  crossing 
Mosquito  Creek  above  the  residence  of  the  Doyles.  Soon  after  cross- 
ing the  creek  some  one  of  the  party  knocked  at  the  door  of  a  cabin,  but 
received  no  reply — I  have  forgotten  whose  cabin  it  was,  if  I  knew  at 
the  time.  The  next  place  we  came  to  was  the  residence  of  the  Doyles. 
John  Brown,  three  of  his  sons,  and  son-in-law  went  to  the  door,  leaving 
Frederick  Brown,  Winer,  and  myself  a  short  distance  from  the  house. 
About  this  time  a  large  dog  attacked  us.  Frederick  Brown  struck  the 
dog  a  blow  with  his  short  two-edged  sword,  after  which  I  dealt  him  a 
blow  with  my  sabre,  and  heard  no  more  of  him.  The  old  man  Doyle 
and  two  sons  were  called  out  and  marched  some  distance  from  the  house 
towards  Dutch  Henry's,  in  the  road,  where  a  halt  was  made.  Old  John 
Brown  drew  his  revolver  and  shot  the  old  man  Doyle  in  the  forehead, 
and  Brown's  two  youngest  sons  immediately  fell  upon  the  younger 
Doyles  with  their  short  two-edged  swords. 


TOWNSLEY'S    STATEMENT.  267 

"  One  of  the  young  Doyles  was  stricken  down  in  an  instant,  hut  the 
other  attempted  to  escape,  and  was  pursued  a  short  distance  by  his  as- 
sailant and  cut  down.  The  company  then  proceeded  down  Mosquito 
Creek  to  the  house  of  Allen  Wilkinson.  Here  the  old  man  Brown, 
three  of  his  sons,  and  son-in-law,  as  at  the  Doyle  residence,  went  to  the 
door  and  ordered  Wilkinson  to  come  out,  leaving  Frederick  Brown, 
Winer,  and  myself  standing  in  the  road  east  of  the  house.  \Vilkinson 
was  taken  and  marched  some  distance  south  of  his  house  and  slain  in 
the  road,  with  a  short  sword,  by  one  of  the  younger  Browns.  After 
he  was  killed  his  body  was  dragged  out  to  one  side  and  left. 

"  We  then  crossed  the  Potawatomic  and  came  to  the  house  of  Henry 
Sherman,  generally  known  as  Dutch  Henry.  Here  John  Brown  and 
the  party,  excepting  Frederick  Brown,  Winer,  and  myself,  who  were 
left  outside  a  short  distance  from  the  door,  went  into  the  house  and 
brought  out  one  or  two  persons,  talked  with  them  some,  and  then  took 
them  in  again.  They  afterwards  brought  out  William  Sherman,  Dutch 
Henry's  brother,  marched  him  down  into  the  Potawatomie  Creek,  where 
he  was  slain  with  swords  by  Brown's  two  youngest  sons,  and  left  lying 
in  the  creek. 

"  It  was  the  expressed  intention  of  Brown  to  execute  Dutch  Henry 
also,  but  he  was  not  found  at  home.  He  also  hoped  to  find  George 
Wilson,  Probate  Judge  of  Anderson  County,  there,  and  intended,  if  he 
did,  to  kill  him  too.  Wilson  had  been  notifying  Free-State  men  to 
leave  the  Territory.  I  had  received  such  a  notice  from  him  myself. 

"  Brown  wanted  me  to  pilot  the  party  into  the  neighborhood  where 
I  lived,  and  point  out  all  the  pro-slavery  men  in  it,  whom  he  proposed 
to  put  to  death.  I  positively  refused  to  do  it,  and  on  account  of  my  re- 
fusal I  remained  in  camp  all  of  the  night  upon  which  the  first  attack 
was  to  be  made,  and  the  next  day.  I  told  him  I  was  willing  to  go  with 
him  to  Lecompton  and  attack  the  leaders,  or  fight  the  enemy  in  open 
field  anywhere,  but  I  did  not  want  to  engage  in  killing  these  men. 
That  night  and  the  acts  then  perpetrated  are  vividly  fixed  in  my  memory, 
and  I  have  thought  of  them  many  times  since. 

"  I  make  this  statement  at  the  urgent  request  of  my  friends  and 
neighbors,  Judge  James  Hanway  and  Hon.  Johnson  Clarke,  who  have 
been  present  during  all  the  time  occupied  in  writing  it  out,  and  in  whose 
hearing  it  has  been  several  times  read  before  signing. 

"JAMES  TOWXSLEY. 

"  LANE,  KAN.,  December  6,  1879." 

This  massacre  occurred  on  the  24th  of  May,  1856.  On 
the  28th  this  mode  of  warfare  was  continued  by  the  robbery 


268  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

of  Morton  Bourn  of  his  money,  guns,  horses,  saddles,  and 
store.  Mr.  Bourn  testified,  as  found  in  the  report  of  the 
Congressional  Committee,  on  page  108,  as  follows: 

"  I  own  slaves,  and  have  a  crop  of  corn  and  wheat  growing.  Have 
never  taken  any  active  part  with  the  pro-slavery  party,  only  voted  the 
pro-slavery  ticket,  and  was  for  sustaining  the  laws.  These 

men  said  I  must  leave  in  a  day  or  two,  or  they  would  kill  me,  or  hinted 
as  much — said  I  would  not  fare  well,  or  words  to  that  effect.  I  left  for 
fear  of  my  life  and  the  lives  of  my  family.  They  said  that  the  war  was 
commenced, that  they  were  going  to  fight  it  out,  and  drive  the  pro-slav- 
ery people  out  of  the  Territory,  or  words  to  that  amount.  The  men 
that  robbed  my  house  and  drove  me  away  from  my  property  were  abo- 
litionists, or  free-soilers.  *  *  *  I  believe  they  hated  me  so  because 
I  am  a  pro-slavery  man,  and  in  favor  of  the  territorial  laws,  and  be- 
cause I  served  on  the  last  Grand  Jury  at  Lecompton." 

The  store  of  J.  M.  Bernard  was  robbed  on  the  2yth  of 
May.  Of  this  robbery,  John  Miller  testifies: 

"  I  was  in  the  store  with  Mr.  Davis.  Whilst  there  a  party  of  thir- 
teen men  came  to  the  store  on  horseback,  armed  with  Sharp's  rifles,  re- 
volvers, and  bowie-knives.  They  inquired  for  Mr.  Bernard.  I  told 
them  that  he  had  gone  to  Westport.  One  of  them  said  to  me,  '  You  are 
telling  a  God  damned  lie,'  and  drew  up  his  gun  at  me.  Some  of  them 
came  into  the  store,  and  the  rest  remained  outside.  They  called  for  such 
goods  as  they  wanted,  and  made  Mr.  Davis  and  myself  hand  them  out, 
and  said  if  we  '  didn't  hurry  '  they  would  shoot  us.  They  had  their  guns 
ready.  After  they  had  got  the  goods — they  wanted  principally  blankets 
and  clothing — they  packed  them  upon  their  horses  and  went  away. 
Mr.  Joab  Bernard  is  a  pro-slavery  man.  [Mr.  Miller  recognized  one  of 
the  party  as  an  active  Free-State  man.]  They  on  the  next  day  came  back 
with  a  wagon,  and  took  the  remainder  of  the  goods  in  the  store,  except 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars'  worth — including  flour,  sugar,  cof- 
fee, bacon,  and  all  kinds  of  provisions,  as  well  as  two  fine  horses,  three 
saddles,  two  bridles,  and  all  the  money  there  was  in  the  store." 

In  the  conclusion  of  his  affidavit,  Mr.  Miller  says : 

"  When  they  first  came,  they  looked  up  at  the  sign,  and  said  they 
would  like  to  shoot  at  the  name." 

James  Redpath,  in  his  "  Life  of  Captain  John  Brown," 
page  1 01,  says  that  Charley  Lenhart  and  John  E.  Cook, 


REDPATH'S  JUSTIFICATION.  269 

after  the   2ist  of  May,  left  Lawrence,  "to  commence  re- 
prisals."    Also,  he  says  on  page  117  : 

"  On  the  23d  of  May,  John  Brown  left  the  camp  of  his  son,  at  Osa- 
watomie,  with  seven  or  eight  men,  and  from  that  moment  began  his 
guerrilla  warfare  in  southern  Kansas." 

The  same  author  fully  justifies  this  midnight  assassination 
and  robbery,  and  from  that  time  this  kind  of  warfare  con- 
tinued in  full  force  till  the  i4th  of  September. 

Andreas,  in  his  history,  page  131,  says: 

"  The  aggressive  warfare  thus  begun  was  not  in  accordance  with 
the  plans  or  purposes  of  the  leaders  of  the  Free-State  movement ;  on 
the  contrary,  it  was  in  direct  opposition  to  their  counsel,  and  had  been 
persistently  decried  and  successfully  restrained  up  to  this  time.  For 
the  disorders  that  ensued,  the  Free-State  organization  was  in  no  man- 
ner responsible." 

Two  attempts  at  justification  are  made  for  this  mode  of 
warfare : 

First,  it  was  a  means  of  self-defense  against  like  out- 
rages. 

Second,  it  quieted  the  disturbances  in  the  Territory.  The 
first  and  principal  witness  for  the  defense  theory  is  James 
Redpath.  Up  to  this  time  he  and  the  other  newspaper 
correspondents  were  loyal  to  the  policy  of  the  Free-State 
party,  but  now  they,  some  of  them,  defended  its  enemies. 
Redpath,  in  his  "  Life  of  Captain  John  Brown,"  begin- 
ning at  page  115,  gives  this  account  and  defense  of  this 
tragedy : 

"  I  have  spoken  of  the  rumors  of  midnight  murder  in  the  Potawat- 
omie  region,  and  stated  that  Captain  Brown  was  accused  by  the  invaders 
of  having  done  the  deed.  The  charge  is  false.  It  was  first  made  by 
his  enenies,  who  feared  him,  and  desired  to  drive  him  out  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  subsequently  repeated  by  a  recreant  Free-State  journalist, 
who  sold  himself  to  the  Federal  Administration  for  the  paltry  bribe  of 
the  public  printing. 

' '  The  killing  of  the  ruffians  of  Potawatomie  was  one  of  those  stern 
acts  of  summary  justice  with  which  the  history  of  the  West  and  of 


270  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

every  civil  war  abounds.  Lynch  law  is  one  of  the  early  necessities  of 
far-western  communities ;  and  the  terrors  of  it  form  the  only  efficient 
guarantee  of  the  peaceful  citizen  from  the  ruffianism  which  distinguishes 
and  curses  every  new  Territory.  The  true  story  of  Potawatomie  is 
briefly  told. 

"  In  all  that  region,  ever  since  the  opening  of  the  Territory  for  set- 
tlement, the  pro-slavery  party  had  been  brutally  tyrannical,  Free-State 
men  were  daily  robbed,  beaten,  and  killed ;  their  property  was  stolen, 
openly,  before  their  eyes ;  and  yet  they  did  not  dare  to  resist  the  out- 
rages. One  or  two  families  alone  were  occasionally  exempted,  by  their 
character  for  desperate  courage,  from  these  daring  and  unwarrantable 
assaults.  Among  them  were  the  sons  and  son-in-law  of  Old  John 
Brown ;  and  even  they  had  repeatedly  suffered  from  the  conduct  of  the 
ruffians,  until  the  arrival  of  their  father  in  the  autumn,  with  arms. 
Then,  until  the  months  of  April  and  May,  a  season  of  peace  was  allowed 
them.  But  when,  in  fulfilment  of  the  plan  of  the  Missouri  secret  lodges, 
the  Territory  was  to  be  conquered  for  slavery,  it  at  once  became  a  ques- 
tion of  life,  death,  or  immediate  banishment  to  the  settlers  in  southern 
Kansas  how  they  should  act  against  the  invading  pro-slavery  party  and 
their  allies  among  the  squatters.  Men  who  have  passed  their  lives  in 
the  quiet  of  New  England's  valleys,  or  in  Eastern  cities,  can  never 
know  what  it  is  to  be  in  earnest  on  what  is  seemingly  a  mere  question 
of  political  right  or  constitutional  interpretation.  Hence  this  chapter 
may  shock  them ;  but  it  is  my  duty,  nevertheless,  to  write  it. 

' '  The  pro-slavery  party,  in  all  the  region  around  Potawatomie,  re- 
newed their  system  of  aggressions  on  the  Free-State  men.  John  Brown 
began  to  stir  himself  and  prepare  for  the  defense  of  his  neighborhood. 
With  his  two  sons  or  friends  he  went  out  into  the  prairies  where  a  num- 
ber of  invaders  were  encamped,  and,  pretending  to  survey  the  country, 
drove  his  imaginary  lines  through  the  middle  of  their  camp.  All  the 
Government  officers  in  Kansas,  from  the  Governor  down  to  the  humblest 
workmen,  were  at  this  time,  and  for  long  afterwards,  ultra  pro-slavery 
men ;  many  of  them  professed  secessionists,  who  publicly  cursed  the 
Union  as  a  burden  to  the  South.  John  Brown  frequently  adopted  this 
plan  of  entering  the  camp  of  the  invading  forces,  and  not  only  never 
was  suspected,  but  was  never  asked  what  his  political  opinions  were. 
Never  doubting  that  he  was  a  Government  surveyor,  the  Southrons 
never  doubted  his  political  orthodoxy. 

"  The  men  in  this  camp  freely  told  him  their  plans.  There  was  an 
old  man  of  the  name  Brown,  they  said,  who  had  several  sons  here  whom 
it  was  necessary  to  get  out  of  the  way,  as,  if  they  were  driven  out  or 
killed,  the  other  settlers  would  be  afraid  to  offer  any  further  resistance. 
They  told  him  how  Wilkinson,  the  Doyles,  and  a  Dutchman  named 
Sherman,  had  recently  been  in  Missouri,  and  succeeded  in  securing 


REDPATH  S    STATEMENT.  271 

forces  to  drive  out  the  Browns,  and  that  it  was  determined  to  kill  them 
in  the  latter  part  of  May.  They  mentioned  several  other  prominent 
Free-State  men  who  were  to  share  this  fate. 

"  John  Brown  left  their  camp,  and  at  once  notified  the  settlers  who 
had  been  marked  out  for  destruction,  of  the  murderous  designs  of  the 
Missourians.  A  meeting  of  the  intended  victims  was  held;  and  it  was 
determined  that  on  the  first  indication  of  the  massacre,  the  Doyles — a 
father  and  two  sons — Wilkinson,  and  Sherman  should  be  seized,  tried 
by  Lynch  law,  and  summarily  killed. 

"  On  the  23d  of  May,  John  Brown  left  the  camp  of  his  son,  at  Osa- 
watomie,  with  seven  or  eight  men,  and  from  that  moment  began  his 
guerrilla  warfare  in  southern  Kansas.  He  ordered  them  to  the  vicinity 
of  his  home,  to  be  ready  for  the  Missourians  when  they  came.  He 
himself  went  in  a  different  direction,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  fur- 
ther aid. 

"  On  the  night  of  the  25th  of  May,  the  Doyles,  Wilkinson,  and 
Sherman  were  seized,  tried,  and  slain.  This  act  was  precipitated  by  a 
brutal  assault  committed  during  the  forenoon  on  a  Free- State  man  at  the 
store  of  Sherman,  in  which  the  Doyles  were  the  principal  and  most 
ruffianly  participators.  These  wretches,  on  the  same  day,  called  at  the 
houses  of  the  Browns ;  and,  both  in  words  and  by  acts,  offered  the 
grossest  indignities  to  a  daughter  and  daughter-in-law  of  the  old  man. 
As  they  went  away,  they  said,  '  Tell  your  men  that  if  they  don't  leave 
right  off,  we'll  come  back  to-morrow  and  kill  them.'  They  added,  in 
language  too  gross  for  publication,  that  the  women  would  then  suffer 
still  worse  indignities. 

' '  What  redress  could  the  husbands  of  these  women  have  received 
had  they  asked  the  protection  of  the  law?  They  would  have  been 
obliged  to  seek  it  from  Wilkinson,  one  of  these  ruffians,  who  was  the 
magistrate  of  the  Potawatomie  District!  This  instance  had  hundreds 
of  parallels. 

< .  "  I  do  not  know  whether  New  England  people  will  be  able  to  vin- 
dicate the  summary  punishment  inflicted  on  these  wretches ;  but  I  do 
know  that  nearly  every  Free-State  man  then  in  Kansas,  when  he  came 
to  know  the  cause,  privately  endorsed  it  as  a  righteous  act,  although 
many  of  them,  '  to  save  the  party,'  publicly  repudiated  and  condemned  it. 

"  These  facts  I  derived  from  two  squatters  who  aided  in  the  execu- 
tion, and  who  were  not  ashamed  of  the  part  they  took  in  it.  Neither 
of  them  was  a  son  of  John  Brown.  They  were  settlers  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. 

"  John  Brown  himself  subsequently  corroborated  their  statements, 
without  knowing  that  they  had  made  them,  by  his  account  of  the  affair 
and  denial  of  any  participation  in  it.  '  But,  remember,'  he  added,  '  I 
do  not  say  this  to  exculpate  myself ;  for,  although  I  took  no  hand  in  it, 


272  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

I  would  have  advised  it  had  I  known  the  circumstances  ;  and  I  endorsed 
it  as  it  was.' 

"  '  Time  and  the  honest  verdict  of  posterity,'  he  said,  in  his  Vir- 
ginia cell,  '  will  approve  of  every  act  of  mine.'  I  think  it  will  also  en- 
dorse all  the  acts  that  he  endorsed ;  and  among  them  this  righteous 
slaughter  of  the  ruffians  at  Potawatomie.  John  Brown  did  not  know 
that  these  men  were  killed  until  the  following  day ;  for,  with  one  of  his 
sons,  he  was  twenty-five  miles  distant  at  the  time.  He  was  at  Middle 
Creek.  This  fact  can  be  proved  by  living  witnesses.  It  is  false,  also, 
that  the  ruffians  were  cruelly  killed.  They  were  tried,  made  confession, 
allowed  time  to  pray,  and  then  slain  in  a  second." 

R.  J.  Hinton  has  said:  "  Doyle  was  engaged  with  others 
in  a  fiendish  attempt  to  outrage  the  persons  of  Captain 
Brown's  daughter  and  daughter-in-law,  the  wife  of  one  of 
Brown's  sons." 

A  brother  of  John  Brown,  in  the  Cleveland  Plaindealer, 
November  29,  1859,  says: 

"My  brother  John  and  his  two  sons  were  living  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood, and  a  committee  of  five  from  the  border  ruffian  camp  called 
upon  him,  and  said  they  were  instructed  to  warn  him  that  if  the  Free- 
State  men  were  found  there  the  next  Thursday  night,  they  would  kill 
every  one  of  them." 

Dr.  G.  W.  Brown,  in  his  "  Reminiscences  of  Old  John 
Brown,"  gives  other  current  reasons  or  excuses  for  this 
massacre.  Among  them  are  these  :  "A  band  of  pro-slavery 
men  went  to  the  house  of  John,  Jr.,  insulted  his  wife,  burned 
his  cabin,  and  drove  off  his  cattle." 

"  John  Brown's  cabin  was  burned,  his  blooded  stock  were 
driven  off,  and  the  women  of  his  family  were  grossly  in- 
sulted. Wilkinson,  Sherman,  and  the  Doyles  were  caught 
in  the  act  of  hanging  a  Free-State  man,  and  were  shot  by 
friends  of  the  injured  party." 

John  Brown  is  reported  as  saying,  in  a  speech  before  the 
Legislature,  at  Boston,  on  the  :8th  of  February,  1857  : 

"  He  saw  a  great  deal  of  Buford's  men  in  Kansas;  that  they  spoke 
without  hesitation  before  him,  because  he  employed  himself  as  a  sur- 


PURPOSE    OF    THE    MASSACRE.  273 

veyor ;  and  as  nearly  all  the  surveyors  were  pro-slavery  men,  they 
probably  thought  he  was  '  sound  on  the  goose. '  They  told  him  all  their 
plans ;  what  they  intended  to  do ;  how  they  were  determined  to  drive 
off  the  Free-State  men,  and  possess  themselves  of  the  Territory,  and 
make  it  a  slave  State  at  all  hazards,  cost  what  it  might.  *•  *  *  They 
did  not  hesitate  to  threaten  that  they  would  burn,  kill,  scalp,  and  drive 
out  the  entire  Free-State  population  of  the  Territory,  if  it  was  necessary 
to  do  so  to  accomplish  their  object." 

This  is  a  partial  report  of  the  case,  as  made  up  by  letter- 
writers  and  others,  and  it  was  the  only  case  for  many  years, 
and  until  disinterested  historians  gathered  their  materials. 
Supposing  the  statements  of  Redpath,  the  correspondent  of 
the  Missouri  Democrat,  and  others,  had  given  substantially 
the  facts,  the  writer  of  this  excused  the  massacre  as  best  he 
could,  as  an  act  of  retributive  justice  for  similar  outrages 
already  committed  against  Free-State  men.  But,  unfortu- 
nately for  the  vindication  of  such  an  outrage,  it  was  the  first 
of  its  kind  in  Kansas,  and  a  professed  Free-State  man  com- 
menced this  war  of  midnight  assassination.  It  is  now  evi- 
dent, since  the  testimony  of  Townsley,  admitted  by  the 
friends  of  Brown  to  be  substantially  correct,  that  this  blow 
was  not  struck  to  punish  criminals,  or  protect  Free-State 
men,  or  to  aid  the  cause  of  a  free  State  in  Kansas,  but  to 
involve  the  sections,  North  and  South,  in  war,  in  accordance 
with  Redpath's  purpose,  as  given  in  his  "  Roving  Editor," 
page  300,  as  follows : 

"  I  believed  that  a  civil  war  between  the  North  and  South  would 
ultimate  in  insurrection,  and  that  the  Kansas  troubles  would  probably 
create  a  military  conflict  of  the  sections.  Hence  I  left  the  South,  and 
went  to  Kansas  ;  and  endeavored,  personally  and  by  my  pen,  to  precipi- 
tate a  revolution.  That  we  failed — for  I  was  not  alone  in  this  desire — 
was  owing  to  the  influence  of  prominent  Republican  statesmen,  whose 
unfortunately  conservative  character  of  counsel — which  it  was  impos- 
sible openly  to  resist — effectually  baffled  all  our  hopes :  hopes  which 
Democratic  action  was  auspiciously  promoting." 

The  testimony  of  Townsley  would  seem  to  be  conclusive 
on  this  point.     He  says,  as  already  quoted : 
18 


274  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  He  [Brown]  said  he  wanted  me  to  pilot  the  company  up  to  the 
forks  of  the  creek,  some  five  or  six  miles  above,  into  the  neighborhood 
where  I  lived,  and  show  them  where  all  the  pro-slavery  men  resided ; 
that  he  proposed  to  sweep  the  creek  as  he  came  down  of  all  the  pro- 
slavery  men  living  on  it." 

Again  he  says : 

"  Brown  wanted  me  to  pilot  the  party  into  the  neighborhood  where 
I  lived,  and  point  out  all  the  pro-slavery  men  in  it,  whom  he  proposed 
to  put  to  death.  I  positively  refused  to  do  it,  and  on  account  of  my  re- 
fusal I  remained  in  camp  all  of  the  night  when  the  first  attack  was  to  be 
made,  and  the  next  day." 

From  this  testimony  it  appears  that  John  Brown  was  not 
hunting  for  criminals  who  had  insulted  his  family,  driven  off 
his  stock,  killed  his  son  or  any  one  else,  but  simply  for  pro- 
slavery  men,  innocent  or  guilty,  it  mattered  not  which.  It 
has  been  seen  that  Brown  could  tell  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  only  that  the  pro-slavery  men  had  used  "  threats  " 
of  driving  off  Free-State  men.  He  didn't  pretend  that  any 
one  had  been  driven  off  or  molested  in  any  manner.  When 
it  is  known  that  such  threats  were  as  plenty  as  blue-berries 
in  June,  on  both  sides,  all  over  the  Territory,  and  were  re- 
garded as  of  no  more  importance  than  the  idle  wind,  this 
indictment  will  hardly  justify  midnight  assassination  of  all 
pro-slavery  men,  whether  making  threats  or  not.  Governor 
George  A.  Crawford,  in  a  letter  to  Fli  Thayer  dated  August 
4,  1879,  says  that  Brown  "gave  as  a  reason"  (for  the 
slaughter)  that  the  men  were  carriers  of  news  to  the  Mis- 
sourians,  that  they  kept  a  "  grape-vine  telegraph  "  with  Mis- 
sourians,  and  were  endangering  the  settlements  by  bringing 
in  invaders. 

And  John  Brown,  Jr.,  in  the  Cleveland  PlainJealer,  says: 
"  The  Doyles,  Wilkinson,  and  Sherman  were  furnishing  places 
of  rendezvous  and  active  aid  to  armed  men  who  had  sworn 
to  kill  us  and  others."  Here  are  more  threats.  Had  all 
men  been  killed  in  Kansas  who  indulged  in  such  threats, 
there  would  have  been  none  left  to  burv  the  dead. 


INDIGNATION    MEETING.  275 

John  Brown,  Jr.,  and  H.  H.  Williams,  both  prominent 
men  at  or  near  Osawatomie,  were  brought  to  the  camp  of 
the  treason  prisoners  soon  after  this  massacre,  and  neither 
gave  information  of  any  wrong-doing  on  the  part  of  the  men 
killed.  And  Mrs.  Brown,  wife  of  John,  Jr.,  associated  inti- 
mately with  Mrs.  Robinson,  Mrs.  Jenkins,  and  others  in 
camp,  but  never  referred  to  any  outrage  or  threatened  vio- 
lence upon  her  person.  But  a  report  of  a  meeting  of  men 
of  both  parties  has  been  discovered  and  published,  which 
ought  to  be  conclusive.  It  is  referred  to  in  Andrea's  his- 
tory, on  page  132,  as  follows: 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Potavvatomie  Creek,  without  dis- 
tinction of  parties,  held  at  the  branch  between  Messrs.  Potter  and  Par- 
tridges, on  the  27th  day  of  May,  1856  (three  days  after  the  killing),  C. 
H.  Rice  was  chosen  chairman  and  H.  H.  Williams  secretary.  The 
chairman  then  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  take  the  subject  under  consideration.  The  committee 
consisted  of  R.  Golding,  R.  Gilpatrick,  N.  C.  Dow,  S.  V.  Vanderman, 
A.  Castele,  and  John  Blunt.  After  consultation,  the  committee  reported 
the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  which  were  unanimously 
adopted,  and  a  copy  of  them  ordered  to  be  printed. 

'  '  Whereas,  an  outrage  of  the  darkest  and  foulest  nature  has  been 
committed  in  our  midst  by  some  midnight  assassins  unknown,  who  have 
taken  five  of  our  citizens  at  the  hour  of  midnight  from  their  homes  and 
families,  and  murdered  and  mangled  them  in  an  awful  manner ;  to  pre- 
vent a  repetition  of  these  deeds,  we  deem  it  necessary  to  adopt  some 
measures  for  our  mutual  protection  and  to  aid  and  assist  in  bringing 
these  desperadoes  to  justice.  Under  these  circumstances,  we  propose 
to  act  up  to  the  following  resolutions  : 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  will  from  this  time  lay  aside  all  sectional  and 
political  feelings  and  act  together  as  men  of  reason  and  common  sense, 
determined  to  oppose  all  men  who  are  so  ultra  in  their  views  as  to  de- 
nounce men  of  opposite  opinions. 

'  '  Resolved,  That  we  will  repudiate  and  discountenance  all  organized 
bands  of  men  who  leave  their  homes  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  exciting 
others  to  acts  of  violence,  believing  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  good-disposed 
citizens  to  stay  at  home  during  these  exciting  times  and  protect,  and,  if 
possible,  restore  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  neighborhood ;  further- 
more, we  will  discountenance  all  armed  bodies  of  men  who  may  come 
amongst  us  from  any  other  part  of  the  Territory  or  from  the  States,  un- 
less said  parties  shall  come  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States. 


>  Committee.'  " 


276  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

'  '  Resolved,  That  we  pledge  ourselves,  individually  and  collectively, 
to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  a  similar  tragedy,  and  to  ferret  out  and  hand 
over  to  the  criminal  authorities  the  perpetrators  lor  punishment. 

'  H.  H.  WILLIAMS,  Secretary, 

C.  H.  PRICE,  President, 
1  R.  GOLDIXG,  Chairman, 

R.  GILPATRICK, 

N.  C.  Dow, 
'  S.  V.  VANDERMAN, 

A.  CASTELE, 
'JOHN  BLUNT, 

Among  the  active  men  of  this  meeting  are  some  of  the 
most  radical  Free-State  men  of  the  Territory,  and  most 
certainly  had  there  been  any  palliation  or  excuse  for  this  kill- 
ing, it  would  have  been  given.* 

Did  this  slaughter  of  five  men  and  boys  quiet  the  disturb- 
ance in  the  Territory  ?  As  has  been  seen,  the  official  dis- 
turbances had  run  their  course,  and  the  members  of  the  last 
Marshal's  posse  had  retired  to  their  homes  in  Missouri  or 
elsewhere,  with  but  few  exceptions.  Up  to  this  time  no  Free- 
State  men  had  been  killed  south  of  Douglas  County,  not- 
withstanding the  statement  to  the  contrary  of  Redpath  and 
others,  and  no  such  massacre  as  that  on  the  Potawatomie 
had  ever  occurred  anywhere  within  the  Territory  or  without. 
Its  equal  in  atrocity  must  be  sought  for  in  the  dark  ages,  as 
it  cannot  be  found  in  modern  times.  No  violence  had  been 
offered  in  southern  Kansas  of  a  serious  character  except  at 
Stanton,  in  Miami  County.  This  is  thus  recorded  in 
Andrea's  history,  page  895  : 

"At  the  meeting  of  April  16,  1856,  at  which  resolutions  were  adopted 
against  the  payment  of  taxes,  and  at  which  John  Brown  made  an  abo- 
lition speech,  the  Rev.  Mr.  White  several  times  offensively  interrupted 
the  speaker.  As  the  reverend  gentleman  was  generally  exceedingly  ob- 
noxious to  the  Free-State  men,  a  few  nights  after  the  above-mentioned 
meeting  occurred,  a  party  of  twelve  of  them  attacked  his  house,  open- 
ing fire  upon  it.  The  firing  was  vigorously  replied  to  by  those  inside. 
The  attacking  party  soon  retired,  taking  White's  horses  with  them.  On 

*  See  Appendix  A. 


EFFECT    ON    JOHN    BROWN,    JR.  277 

the  next  day  White  moved  to  Missouri,  settling  permanently  in  Bates 
County." 

As  will  be  seen,  this  same  Rev.  Martin  White,  after  this 
massacre,  had  the  satisfaction  of  killing  Frederick  Brown, 
just  before  the  battle  of  Osawatomie. 

Here  is  the  only  serious  disturbance  with  deadly  weapons 
in  southern  Kansas  so  far  as  known,  and  that  happened  to 
be  on  the  wrong  side  to  be  pleaded  as  an  excuse  for  the 
midnight  slaughter  by  John  Brown,  May  24th,  of  the  same 
year.  If  no  unusual  troubles  can  be  found  existing  before 
May  24th  in  southern  Kansas,  did  any  occur  after  that  date, 
and  if  so,  were  they  "  quieted  "  or  caused  and  aggravated 
by  John  Brown's  new  warfare  ?  It  is  claimed  by  Redpath 
and  others  that  Brown's  family  were  disturbed  by  pro-slavery 
men  before  this  massacre.  Although  this  claim  is  not  sup- 
ported by  evidence,  how  much  better  was  their  condition 
afterwards  ?  G.  W.  Brown,  in  his  "  Reminiscences  of  Old 
John  Brown,"  page  30,  gives  this  account  of  the  effect  of  the 
massacre  on  John  Brown,  Jr. : 

"  John  Bro\vn,  Jr.,  and  H.  H.  Williams  were  brought  into  the  camp, 
near  Lecompton,  about  the  i6th  of  June,  1856,  and  were  held  as  pris- 
oners with  us.  They  were  indicted  on  the  2yth  of  May,  at  Paola,  then 
Lykins  County,  charged  with  'conspiracy  to  resist  the  collection  of 
taxes.'  John  was  also  suspected  of  responsibility  for  the  Potawatomie 
murders,  but  I  am  glad  to  say  there  was  no  truth  whatever  in  this  alle- 
gation. He  became  an  occupant  of  my  tent,  and  remained  with  me 
some  time  after  he  was  brought  into  camp.  He  was  partly  insane:  his 
mind  seemed  continually  running  on  the  Potawatomie  massacre,  and  he 
appeared  to  suppose  he  was  under  arrest  for  that  offense.  During  the 
entire  period  he  was  with  us — nearly  three  months — whenever  that  event 
was  mentioned  in  his  hearing  his  eyes  would  flash  and  sparkle  like  a 
mad  man's.  He  would  exhibit  the  wildest  excitement,  and  express 
himself  in  the  severest  terms  at  the  enormity  of  the  outrage.  On 
several  occasions  I  attempted  to  allay  his  irritation  by  offering  an  apology 
for  it.  He  replied  invariably :  '  There  can  be  no  apology  for  such  a 
transaction.  Every  feature  of  it  was  too  barbarous  to  admit  of  an 
apology.'  And  then  I  would  divert  his  mind  as  speedily  as  possible, 
engage  his  thoughts  on  some  other  subject,  when  he  would  gradually 
regain  his  composure. 


278  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  In  his  ravings  about  these  murders  on  the  Potawatomie,  John,  Jr., 
told  me  of  the  incidents  lying  between  his  disbanding  his  command 
when  the  news  reached  him,  on  the  morning  after  its  committal,  until 
his  arrest.  He  said  his  best  friends  in  Osawatomie  turned  the  '  cold 
shoulder '  on  him  when  he  arrived  in  the  town ;  a  public  meeting  of 
Free-State  men  was  soon  held,  which  repudiated  it,  and  denounced  the 
actors ;  he  called  on  his  wife  and  child,  and  made  his  way  to  the  bottom 
lands,  where  he  secreted  himself  behind  logs  and  trees.  He  forded  the 
river  several  times  to  avoid  exposure.  A  severe  storm  of  rain  and 
lightning  came  on,  and  he  thought,  in  the  flashes,  he  could  see  his  pur- 
suers. He  said  he  suffered  for  food;  but  his  wife  occasionally  found 
and  relieved  him.  Finally,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  friends,  he  volun- 
tarily surrendered  himself  to  the  civil  authorities,  and  was  taken  in 
charge  by  Federal  troops.  He  was  removed  to  Paola;  thence  to  Te- 
cumseh,  where  he  had  a  hearing  before  United  States  Commissioner 
Hoagland,  and  was  sent  to  camp  for  safe-keeping.  He  represented 
that  he  was  bound  with  ropes  and  chains,  and  was  compelled  to  '  trot 
along,'  thus  bound,  between  two  horsemen,  for  forty  miles,  in  a  hot 
June  sun." 

The  effect  upon  old  Brown  himself  may  be  learned  from 
the  Springfield,  Mass.,  Republican.  It  says: 

"  In  a  letter  written  to  his  wife  and  children  at  North  Elba  in  June, 
1856,  Brown  gave  the  only  written  account  of  the  expedition  which  has 
been  received  from  him.  Portions  of  this  letter  have  been  published, 
but  not  the  whole.  In  it  he  says :  '  On  the  second  day  and  evening 
after  we  left  John's  men — which  was  Saturday,  May  22,  1856 — we  en- 
countered quite  a  number  of  pro-slavery  men,  and  took  quite  a  number 
prisoners.  Our  prisoners  we  let  go,  but  we  kept  some  four  or  five 
horses.  We  were  immediately  after  this  accused  of  murdering  five  men 
at  Potawatomie,  and  great  efforts  have  since  been  made  by  the  Mis- 
sourians  and  ruffian  allies  to  capture  us.  John's  company  soon  after- 
ward disbanded,  and  also  the  Osawatomie  men.' 

"  In  the  original  letter,  which  was  written  in  pencil,  something  has 
been  erased  after  this,  and  a  note  on  the  margin,  in  Brown's  handwrit- 
ing, adds :  '  There  are  but  very  few  who  wish  real  facts  about  these 
matters  to  go  out.'  Apparently  Brown  himself  is  willing  that  the  real 
facts  should  be  known,  but,  for  the  sake  of  others,  does  not  state  them. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  letter,  after  describing  the  fight  at  Black  Jack, 
the  burning  of  his  son's  house  at  Brown's  Station,  on  Middle  Creek, 
ten  miles  west  of  Osawatomie,  and  other  '  trying  events,'  Brown  say-- : 

"  '  Since  then  we  have,  like  David  of  old,  had  our  dwellings  with  the 
serpents  of  the  rocks  and  wild  beasts  of  the  wilderness,  being  obliged  to 


EFFECT   ON    TREASON    PRISONERS.  279 

hide  away  from  our  enemies.  We  are  not  disheartened,  though  nearly 
destitute  of  food,  clothing,  and  money.  God,  who  has  not  given  us 
over  to  the  will  of  our  enemies,  but  has,  moreover,  delivered  them  into 
our  hands,  will,  we  humbly  trust,  still  keep  and  deliver  us.  We  feel 
assured  that  He  who  sees  not  as  men  see  does  not  lay  the  guilt  of  in- 
nocent blood  to  our  charge.'  " 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  this  man,  who,  according  to 
F.  B.  Sanborn  and  others,  put  an  end  forever  to  all  difficul- 
ties in  Kansas  by  this  "one  stroke,"  should  himself  become 
an  outlaw,  and  have  to  dwell  "  with  the  serpents  of  the 
rocks  and  wild  beasts  of  the  wilderness."  If  the  pro-slavery 
men  had  been  all  driven  from  the  Territory,  and  profound 
peace  reigned,  as  some  of  his  eulogists  claim,  who  was  there 
to  trouble  either  him,  the  "  Liberator,"  or  his  son? 

As  has  been  stated,  Deitzler,  G.  W.  Brown,  Jenkins,  and 
Smith  were  arrested  for  treason  on  or  about  the  2ist  of 
May,  and  taken  to  Lecompton  by  the  Marshal.  G.  W. 
Brown,  in  his  "  Reminiscences,"  page  1 2,  gives  the  effect  of 
the  news  of  this  massacre,  as  follows : 

"  On  Sunday,  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  of  May,  '56,  informa- 
tion was  given  to  the  treason  prisoners,  at  Lecompton,  of  whom  the 
writer  had  the  honor  of  being  one,  that  a  terrible  massacre  of  pro- 
slavery  men  had  been  perpetrated  on  Potawatomie  Creek  ;  that  the  news 
had  reached  the  Kickapoo  Rangers,  Atchison  Tigers,  and  such  other 
pro-slavery  organizations  as  were  still  about  Lecompton  after  their  suc- 
cessful raid  of  the  2 1st  on  Lawrence.  The  excitement  was  reported 
very  high  among  them. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  25th,  Marshal  Donelson  entered  the  build- 
ing in  person,  and  said  that  a  party  were  organizing  among  the  Rangers, 
Tigers,  etc. ,  to  take  the  prisoners  and  hang  them  in  retaliation  for  these 
murders.  He  said  he  had  learned  that  we  were  all  Odd  Fellows  or 
Masons  ;  that  he  had  so  reported ;  and  besides  enlisting  all  the  terri- 
torial officers,  including  the  Governor,  Judges,  etc.,  and  such  members 
of  the  Order  as  he  could  find  in  Lecompton,  he  had  found  some  in  the 
several  companies,  and  with  these  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  save  us  ;  that 
they  should  stand  guard  through  the  night,  and  if  an  attack  was  made 
he  should  place  arms  in  our  hands,  that  we  might  aid  in  our  own  de- 
fense. 

"  The  guard  was  kept  up  for  the  night.  The  next  day  the  Marshal's 
'  posse '  were  again  discharged,  and  .left  Lecompton ;  but  Donelson 


280  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

himself  remained  with  us  in  the  room  for  the  night,  for  our  protection 
against  contingencies,  as  he  asserted." 

Robinson  arrived  at  Westport,  Missouri,  as  has  been  stated, 
on  the  2oth  of  May,  and  there  remained  until  the  service  of 
the  writs  at  Lawrence  on  the  2ist,  when  he  was  taken  to 
Lecompton  by  way  of  Leavenworth.  He  was  at  Leaven- 
worth  when  the  news  of  the  killing  was  received. 

A  Westport  paper  had  published  an  account  of  the  killing 
of  "  eight  pro-slavery  men  "  on  the  Potawatomie,  whose  bod- 
ies were  brutally  mutilated,  and  this  was  republished  in  the 
Leavenworth  Herald.  The  excitement  in  the  town  was  in- 
tense. A  public  meeting  was  held,  and  steps  taken  to  drive 
all  Free-State  men  and  women  from  Leavenworth.  G.  W. 
Brown,  in  his  book,  says,  on  page  23,  as  follows : 

"  Governor  Robinson  was  taken  by  a  mob  at  Lexington,  Missouri, 
while  descending  the  Missouri  in  company  with  his  wife.  He  was  de- 
tained there  for  a  few  days  ;  thence  taken  by  way  of  Westport,  to  Franklin, 
within  four  miles  of  Lawrence ;  thence  back  to  Kansas  City,  and  up  the 
Missouri  to  Leavenworth,  where  he  arrived  on  the  eve  of  these  murders 
on  the  Potawatomie.  The  news  of  the  massacre  caused  the  most  in- 
tense excitement.  It  was  all  that  active  pro-slavery  men,  who  were 
warm  personal  friends  of  the  Governor,  some  of  whom  were  under  last- 
ing obligations  to  him  for  favors  rendered  in  California  and  on  his  way 
thither,  could  do  to  save  him  from  violent  death.  Indeed,  the  people 
were  wrought  up  to  such  a  furious  frenzy  that  his  death  was  expected 
at  any  moment.  An  eye-witness  of  the  scene  told  me  that  the  cooler 
and  better  class  of  the  citizens,  thinking  they  were  powerless  to  save 
him,  wept  like  children  as  one  by  one  they  took  him  by  the  hand  and 
bade  him  farewell. 

"  The  Congressional  Investigating  Committee  were  in  session  at 
Leavenworth.  They  could  not  proceed  with  business  because  of  the 
excitement,  hence  removed  to  Kansas  City,  where  they  also  found  it 
impossible,  with  personal  safety,  to  continue  their  investigations,  and 
left  for  Washington,  one  of  the  members  remaining  long  enough  to  ob- 
tain affidavits  detailing  the  incidents  of  this  awful  tragedy,  portions  of 
which  I  have  copied.  In  his  minority  report  to  Congress,  he  said  of 
these  murders :  '  In  savage  barbarity  and  demoniac  cruelty  they  have 
scarcely  an  equal  in  the  history  of  civilized  man.'  The  majority  of  the 
Committee  were  compelled  to  stultify  themselves,  and  throw  out  im- 


EFFECTS    IN    LEAVENWORTH.  281 

portant  evidence  they  had  already  taken,  in  order  to  suppress  the  loath- 
some details  of  the  butchery. 

"  A  lady  resident  of  Leavenworth,  at  the  time  the  news  of  the  tragedy 
reached  the  city,  told  me,  on  her  way  up  the  Missouri  in  the  following 
spring,  returning  for  the  first  time  after  the  occurrence  to  Kansas,  of  its 
effects  on  the  Free-State  population  there.  She  said  a  public  meeting 
of  pro-slavery  men  was  immediately  called,  when  the  account  of  the 
Potawatomie  massacre  was  narrated  to  the  already  crazed  pro-slavery 
mob.  The  most  violent  denunciatory  and  threatening  speeches  were 
made.  Resolutions  were  passed  of  a  fiery  character,  setting  forth  that 
the  first  blood  had  been  shed  by  the  Free-State  men ;  that  the  midnight 
assassins  were  not  satisfied  with  simply  murdering  their  victims,  but 
that  they  had  mutilated  them  in  a  shameful  manner.  They  declared 
that  it  was  impossible  for  the  abolitionists  and  the  pro-slavery  settlers 
to  live  together  in  Kansas,  and  that  the  former  must  leave.  She  said  a 
body  of  armed  men  marched  through  the  streets,  visiting  each  dwelling, 
and  ordered  every  Free-State  man,  woman,  and  child  to  go  at  once  to 
the  levee.  They  would  not  allow  her  even  to  close  her  house ;  but  with 
her  chidren  she  was  marched  to  the  river,  where  she  found  hundreds  of 
others.  All  were  forced  upon  a  steamer  lying  at  the  levee,  including 
her  husband,  whom  she  found  there.  The  Captain  was  ordered  to  take 
these  involuntary  passengers  to  Alton,  and  there  leave  them.  She  re- 
mained in  that  city  until  the  spring  of  1857,  when  she  returned  with 
her  husband,  and  again  settled  in  the  Territory." 

Phillips,  in  his  "  Conquest  of  Kansas,"  page  318,  says : 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  May  [four  days  after  the  murders, 
as  the  reader  will  observe],  the  office  of  the  Leavenworth  Herald  issued 
a  reprint  of  a  violent  '  war  '  extra  of  the  Westport  paper,  the  design  of 
which  was  to  excite  the  border  men  to  acts  of  violence  against  the  Free- 
State  settlers  of  Kansas.  In  the  forenoon  of  that  day  a  pro-slavery 
meeting  was  held,  at  which  Stringfellow  and  General  Richardson  were 
prominent  actors.  At  this  meeting  it  was  decreed  that  all  persons  who 
had  taken  an  active  part  as  Free-State  men  must  leave  the  Territory." 

When  Robinson  arrived  at  Leavenworth,  he  was  placed 
in  charge  of  Captain  William  Martin,  of  the  Kickapoo  Ran- 
gers, and  three  assistants.  On  the  day  of  the  excitement, 
Captain  Martin  was  called  to  attend  private  meetings  of 
the  pro-slavery  men,  reporting  occasionally  to  his  prisoner 
the  determination  relative  to  himself.  He  said  the  pro-slav- 


282  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ery  men  wanted  him  to  surrender  his  prisoner  that  night,  and 
when  he  declined,  they  wanted  him  to  lock  him  in  a  room 
and  leave  him  without  -a  guard.  He  said  he  got  mad  and 
told  them  that  when  a  prisoner  was  placed  in  his  charge 
by  the  United  States  Government,  he  would  protect  that 
prisoner  while  his  own  life  should  last.  Martin  had  served 
one  or  more  enlistments  in  the  United  States  army,  and  had 
a  sense  of  honor  which  all  civilians  did  not  possess.  Being 
Captain  of  the  Kickapoo  Rangers,  he  had  acquired  a  bad 
reputation,  but  it  was  not  wholly  deserved.  According  to  tes- 
timony before  the  Congressional  Committee,  he  did  what  he 
could  to  save  the  life  of  R.  P.  Brown,  killed  at  Easton,  and 
surely  no  man  could  have  acted  more  honorably  than  he  did 
while  he  held  the  writer  as  prisoner.  It  is  doubtful  if  there 
was  another  pro-slavery  man  who  would  or  could  have 
saved  him  from  the  wrath  of  the  excited  mob. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  keeper  announced  a  caller,  who  was 
shown  into  the  parlor  of  the  Shawnee  House,  where  the 
prisoner  was  guarded.  This  caller  seemed  much  affected, 
and  immediately  left  the  room  without  speaking.  He,  how- 
ever, soon  returned,  and  asked  the  prisoner  if  he  remem- 
bered him  ?  On  being  answered  in  the  negative,  he  said, 
"  Do  you  remember  attending  a  young  physician  attacked 
with  cholera  at  Kansas  City  the  night  before  you  started 
overland  for  California  in  1 849  u?  "  On  being  answered  in 
the  affirmative,  he  said,  "  Well,  I  am  that  physician,  and  you 
saved  my  life,  and  I  have  been  trying  all  day  to  save  yours, 
but  have  so  far  failed.  They  have  determined  to  kill  you 
to-night,  and  I  can't  prevent  it."  In  saying  this,  he  shed 
tears  like  a  child.  Robinson  tried  to  console  him  in  his  dis- 
tress, saying  it  might  result  better  than  he  feared  ;  at  any  rate, 
all  had  to  die  once,  and  it  was  not  very  material  as  to  the 
time.  This  physician's  name  is  Dr.  Ridge,  of  Kansas  City, 
now  a  millionaire  and  influential  citizen.  Although  then 
pro-slavery,  he  is  and  was  a  gentleman  with  a  large  and 
generous  heart. 


EFFECT  OF  THE  MASSACRE.  283 

However,  the  officials  did  not  agree  to  the  programme  of 
the  meeting,  and  Judge  Lecompte  and  Marshal  Donelson 
slept  by  the  door  of  the  prisoner's  room,  while  General 
Richardson  occupied  his  bed.  Early  the  next  morning,  be- 
fore the  excited  people  were  on  the  street,  a  company  of 
United  States  dragoons  from  Fort  Leavenworth  appeared 
with  an  empty  saddle,  which  was  soon  filled  by  the  prisoner, 
when  he  was  taken  to  Lecompton  to  join  the  other  "  traitors  " 
on  the  prairie,  under  charge  of  United  States  troops. 

As  another  evidence  of  the  "quieting"  effect  of  John 
Brown's  warfare,  inaugurated  on  the  Potawatomie,  a  few 
extracts  are  given  from  Mrs.  Robinson's  "  Kansas."  On 
returning  from  the  East,  about  the  first  of  June,  she  was 
compelled  to  remain  several  days  at  Kansas  City  on  account 
of  the  disturbances  in  the  Territory.  She  reports  as  follows, 
beginning  on  page  273  : 

"  I  arrived  at  Kansas  City  on  the  night  of  June  3d,  at  twelve  o'clock, 
after  my  Eastern  flying  trip,  and  in  hopes  soon  to  join  my  husband. 
*  *  *  The  last  day  or  two  of  the  trip  on  the  Missouri  River  rumors 
of  war  became  more  frequent.  Inflammatory  extras  were  thrown  upon 
the  boats  at  different  landings.  People  at  Lexington,  and  other  points 
along  the  river,  were  much  excited  and  preparing  for  a  new  invasion. 
The  extras  stated  the  murder  of  eight  pro-slavery  men,  by  the  abolition- 
ists, and  the  cruel  mutilation  of  their  bodies ;  the  death  of  the  United 
States  Marshal,  of  H.  C.  Pate,  and  J.  McGee.  Deeds  of  blood  and 
violence,  of  which  they  were  hourly  guilty,  were  charged  upon  the 
Free-State  men.  The  following  is  a  sample  of  the  incendiary  extras 
which  flew  through  the  border  counties:  '  Murder  is  the  watchword  and 
midnight  deed  of  a  scattered  and  scouting  band  of  abolitionists,  who  had 
courage  only  to  fly  from  the  face  of  the  wronged  and  insulted  people, 
when  met  at  their  own  solicitation.  Men,  peaceable  and  quiet,  cannot 
travel  on  the  public  roads  of  Kansas,  without  being  caught,  searched, 
imprisoned,  and  their  lives,  perhaps,  taken.  No  Southerner  dare  vent- 
ure alone  and  unarmed  on  her  roads!  '  Such  were  the  false  statements 
made  to  arouse  the  passions  of  the  border  men. 

******* 

"  The  threats  of  destroying  this  hotel  were  still  frequent,  and  nightly 
the  danger  of  attack  was  imminent.  The  Mayor  of  the  city  had  kept 
out  a  guard  one  or  two  nights.  But  he  had  declined  doing  this  longer, 


284  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

and,  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  being  called,  it  was  decided  to  ask  the 
'  Eldridges  '  to  sell  the  hotel,  to  save  it  from  the  fury  of  the  South  Caro- 
linians and  border  men ;  they  expressed  to  them  at  the  same  time  their 
regret  that  such  was  the  excitement  against  it. 

"  Again  and  again  the  mob  had  assembled,  and  with  groans,  whose 
hideousness  no  one  can  appreciate  who  was  not  forced  to  listen,  and 
with  yells,  declared  the  house  should  come  down.  The  '  Eldridges ' 
proposed  their  terms,  which  were  accepted,  and,  on  the  morning  of  the 
tenth,  the  hotel  passed  into  the  keeping  of  two  pro-slavery  men.  *  *  * 
Robberies  and  murders  were  repeated  every  day  in  the  early  part  of 
June.  Every  evening's  intelligence  was  of  some  fresh  outrage.  *  *  * 

"  A  Mr.  Cantrell,  then  recently  from  Missouri,  but  a  Free-State  man, 
was  taken  prisoner  on  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  June  by  one  of  General 
Whitfield's  scouting  parties.  On  the  next  day  he  was  carried  down  the 
Santa  F£  road.  At  Cedar  Creek  he  was  taken  out  into  a  ravine  by  two 
men.  Then  there  was  a  shot ; — then  a  cry,  '  O,  God,  I  am  shot !  — I 
am  murdered!  '  Then  another  shot,  and  a  long  piercing  scream; — 
another  shot,  and  all  was  still ! 

"  A  Mr.  Bailey  narrowly  escaped  a  violent  death,  and  through  many 
sufferings  at  last  reached  his  friends.  He  had  started  from  his  home  to 
get  a  load  of  provisions  for  himself  and  his  neighbors.  When  near  Bull 
Creek,  Coleman,  who  had  twenty  men  encamped  close  by,  came  and 
ordered  him  to  stop  over  night.  Among  these  twenty  men  were  Buck- 
ley and  Hargous,  his  accomplices  in  the  murder  of  Dow.  In  the  morn- 
ing his  horses  were  missing,  their  halters  having  been  cut.  The  men 
expressed  sympathy  for  his  loss,  and  told  him  the  horses  could  be  found 
in  the  camp  at  Cedar  Creek,  and  they  proposed  to  go  with  him  to  find 
them.  Before  reaching  Cedar  Creek  they  met  a  company  of  two  hun- 
dred men.  A  consultation  was  held  with  them,  and  Coleman  said, 
'  There  may  be  treachery  used.' 

"  Soon  after  the  company  passed  on,  three  men  took  Mr.  Bailey  into 
the  prairie  about  one  hundred  yards  from  the  road,  and  demanded  his 
money ;  without  hesitation  or  one  word  of  objection  he  gave  them  forty- 
five  dollars,  all  he  had.  One  of  the  men  raised  his  gun  as  though 
he  would  fire.  Mr.  Bailey  said,  '  If  you  mean  to  kill  me,  you  will 
kill  a  better  man  than  yourself;'  to  which  the  ruffian,  lowering  his 
gun,  replied,  '  I  wish  you  to  take  off  those  pantaloons ;  perhaps  they 
will  get  bloody.'  But  Mr.  Bailey  said,  '  They  are  mine  as  long  as  I 
live.' 

"  This  tool  of  the  Administration,  armed  with  a  United  States  mus- 
ket, again  raised  his  gun  and  fired.  The  ball  struck  Mr.  Bailey  in  the 
side,  glancing  along  the  ribs,  and  lodged  in  the  back.  Mr.  Bailey  fell, 
and  was  struck  at  again  and  again  with  the  musket.  Then  two  of  the 


PRO-SLAVERY    RETALIATION.  285 

men  disappeared,  and  left  this  more  than  demon  to  finish  the  work  of 
killing  a  peaceable  man.  He  jumped  on  the  body  of  the  prostrate  man, 
stamping  on  his  face  and  head.  But  as  Mr.  Bailey  caught  hold  of  the 
musket,  and  was  able  to  hold  on  upon  it,  the  murderer  ran  after  the 
others,  calling  upon  them  to  return.  They,  however,  were  too  far 
away.  After  lying  in  the  grass  three  hours,  Mr.  Bailey  attempted  to 
find  his  way  home.  In  doing  so,  he  passed  near  their  camp  the  next 
morning  at  daybreak,  and  for  a  while  lay  hid  in  the  grass,  to  learn  their 
movements.  While  there,  he  heard  a  cry,  '  Are  you  going  to  hang  me?  ' 
and  no  reply,  save  the  ringing  of  a  bell.  In  about  five  minutes,  he 
heard  a  shot,  then  a  whistle,  and  six  other  shots  at  intervals  of  five 
minutes.  He  lay  in  the  woods  all  day,  and  at  night  crawled  along  about 
two  miles ;  was  hid  near  the  Wakarusa  all  the  next  day ;  saw  a  wagon 
stopped  by  five  men ;  heard  angry  words,  and  a  shot  fired.  In  the 
night,  worn  down  by  his  sufferings  from  the  wound  and  bruises,  having 
had  nothing  to  drink  but  stagnant  water,  he  reached  the  house  of  Dr. 
Still,  at  Blue  Mound. 

"A  young  man,  by  the  name  of  Hill,  was  going  to  Missouri,  also 
for  provisions,  and  as  night  came,  he  asked  two  men  on  the  road  where 
he  could  find  water  for  his  horses.  They  said  they  would  show  him,  if 
he  would  go  with  them.  When  he  had  gone  with  them  to  the  ravine, 
where  they  said  he  would  find  water,  they  searched  him,  took  whatever 
he  had  of  money,  and  threatened  to  kill  him.  He  told  them  he  had 
a  mother,  and  young  brothers  and  sister  dependent  on  him ;  that  day 
after  day,  as  she  looked  out  for  his  coming,  and  night  only  brought  a 
renewal  of  the  sad  suspense  as  to  his  fate,  in  sorrow  she  would  go  to 
the  grave ;  but  there  was  no  pity  in  their  hearts,  no  mercy.  They  tied 
the  young  man's  arms  behind  him,  and,  bending  his  feet  backwards, 
tied  them  also  to  his  arms  ;  then  put  a  stick  an  inch  and  a  half  wide  in 
his  mouth,  prying  it  open,  and  tied  the  string  back  of  his  head.  Then, 
more  barbarous  than  the  New  Zealanders,  they  cut  places  in  his  hat, 
and  tied  that  also  over  his  face,  and  laid  him  face  downwards  on  the 
stones.  They  went  away,  leaving  him  to  die. 

"After  a  time  they  came  back  ;  and,  as  one  placed  his  pistol  directly 
over  his  eye,  he  feeling  its  pressure  through  the  hat,  the  other  said, 
'  Don't  shoot  him  ;  he  will  not  go  any  further  on  his  journey  to-night.' 
They  left  again  to  report  at  the  camp,  probably,  another  victim  to  the 
vile  tools  of  slavery  propagandism. 

"  When  this  young  man  found  himself  again  alone,  and  thought  they 
would  not  return,  he  commenced  making  an  effort  to  extricate  himself 
from  his  painful  position.  By  working  his  boot  upon  the  sharp  stones, 
he  found  the  rope  loose  enough  for  him  to  draw  his  foot  out.  His  feet 
were  thus  left  at  liberty,  while  one  boot  was  swinging  on  his  back.  By 


286  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

working  his  hat  between  his  knees,  he  was  able  to  pull  it  off  his  face. 
Then  with  the  strip  of  board  still  lacerating  his  mouth,  and  hands  fas- 
tened with  strong  cords  behind  him,  he  set  out  to  find  some  house  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night. 

"  He  had  come  from  Iowa  in  the  spring,  and  was  but  little  acquainted 
with  the  country.  After  travelling  eleven  miles,  he  knew,  by  the  bark- 
ing of  the  dogs,  he  was  near  a  house,  but  was  unable  to  get  over  the 
fence.  The  strange  cries  he  made  at  last  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
family,  but,  supposing  him  to  be  a  drunken  Indian,  they  did  not  at  first 
come  to  his  aid.  He  was,  however,  cared  for  by  them.  Elliot,  who 
with  Titus  pledged  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  head  of  Captain  Walker, 
when  the  United  States  Marshal  offered,  with  his  usual  servility,  to 
send  a  posse  for  him,  was  one  of  the  actors  in  this  savage  transaction. 
Other  men  were  continually  shot  and  robbed. 

"  A  man  who  had  a  pass  from  United  States  Marshal  Donelson, 
with  a  load  of  freight,  was  returning  to  his  home  in  the  Territory.  On 
the  evening  of  the  day  he  left  he  returned,  robbed  of  his  money,  wagon, 
and  oxen,  and  saved  his  life  only  by  a  promise  to  leave  the  Territory. 
The  men  who  attacked  him  were  encamped  about  two  miles  from  West- 
port,  armed,  as  all  their  men  were,  with  United  States  rifles  and  side 
arms. 

"  The  questions  asked  of  him  were,  '  Where  do  you  live  ?  Where 
are  you  from  ?  \Vhat  are  your  politics  ?  How  much  money  did  that 
d — d  Emigrant  Aid  Society  give  you  to  come  out  here?  What  the  h — 1 
did  you  come  out  here  for  ?  Did  you  come  to  make  Kansas  a  free 
State  ?  Why  didn't  you  go  to  Nebraska  ?  That's  a  good  country,  and 
you  d — d  Yankees  may  have  it ;  but  Kansas  you'll  have  to  fight  for,  and 
we'll  whip  h — 1  out  of  you,  but  we'll  get  it,  Union  or  no  Union! 
That's  a  game  that  must  win,  I  am  thinking.'  The  question  was  finally 
asked,  '  If  we  will  let  you  go,  will  you  take  a  gun  and  march  with  the 
pro-slavery  party  ? ' 

"'Never/'  was  the  invariable  reply.  In  an  instant,  the  cry  re- 
sounded through  the  camp,  '  The  rope,  boys,  the  rope!' 

"  It  was  thrown  over  his  head,  and  he  was  dragged  to  the  nearest 
tree,  exclaiming,  '  You  do  not  intend  to  kill  me  in  this  manner,  do 
you  ? ' 

"  The  reply  was,  '  Yes,  G — d  d — n  your  abolition  heart,  and  all  like 
you  ! ' 

"  He  asked,  if  he  was  thus  to  be  sacrificed,  for  time  to  collect  his 
thoughts,  and  arrange  his  worldly  affairs.  The  fiends  told  him  he 
could  have  ten  minutes  to  make  any  disposal  of  his  property,  and  his 
peace  with  God.  He  then  gave  a  list  of  his  effects  to  one  of  the  cap- 
tains, asking  him  to  send  it  East  to  his  friends ;  and,  at  the  expiration 
of  the  ten  minutes,  the  rope  was  thrown  over  a  limb  and  they  jerked  him 


OUTRAGES    SUBSEQUENT    TO    MASSACRE.  287 

from  the  ground.  After  being  let  down,  he  was  asked,  '  Will  you  leave 
the  Territory,  if  we'll  spare  your  life  ? ' 

"  The  prisoner  objected,  stating  he  had  broken  no  law,  infringed 
upon  no  man's  rights.  The  leader,  who  had  ordered  him  let  down 
when  hanging,  again  interposed,  saying  he  must  make  this  promise,  or 
lose  his  life.  He  told  the  men  that  this  gentleman  had  a  '  right  to  be  a 
Free-State  man,  though  no  right  to  hold  such  views  in  Kansas ;  that  he 
was  guilty  of  no  crime. '  With  a  guard  he  was  sent  back  to  Kansas 
City. 

"  Others,  going  out  with  loaded  teams,  soon  returned,  having  gone 
through  the  same  operation  of  questioning  and  hanging.  In  one  in- 
stance, as  one  was  released,  and  left  the  camp,  he  heard  the  screams  of 
another  man  in  the  camp  across  the  road.  *  *  * 

"  A  young  man  and  his  wife,  formerly  from  Iowa,  came  to  Kansas 
City.  They  were  fearful,  and  dared  not  stay  longer  in  the  Territory. 
Nine  yoke  of  cattle,  which  he  was  going  to  take  into  Iowa  to  sell,  were 
taken  from  him  by  a  ruffianly  band  just  as  he  approached  Kansas  City. 
Some  gentlemen  stopping  at  Kansas,  who  had  lost  teams  on  their 
way  down,  were  anxious  to  get  back  into  the  Territory.  They  started 
one  day,  but  returned  ere.  its  close.  They  thought,  by  going  on  foot, 
and  keeping  off  of  the  travelled  roads,  they  should  be  able  to  get  through 
without  molestation ;  but,  when  about  twelve  miles  out,  they  fell  into 
the  enemy's  hands.  They  were  released  after  a  time,  and  advised  to 
return  to  Kansas  City,  'as  they  would  meet  other  bands,  where  they 
might  fare  worse.'  " 

Phillips,  in  his  "  Conquest  of  Kansas,"  relates  as  follows : 

"  While  near  Osawatomie,  he  contrived  to  seize  two  of  the  old 
man's  sons — Captain  John  Brown,  Jr.,  and  Mr.  Jason  Brown.  These 
were  taken  while  quietly  engaged  in  their  avocations.  Captain  Brown, 
Jr.,  had  been  up  with  his  company  at  Lawrence,  immediately  after  the 
sacking  of  the  place,  and  at  the  time  the  men  at  Potawatomie  were 
killed.  He  had  returned  home  when  he  saw  he  could  not  aid  Law- 
rence, and  quietly  went  to  work.  He  and  his  brother  Jason  were  taken 
by  Pate,  charged  with  murder,  kept  in  irons  in  their  camp,  and  treated 
with  the  greatest  indignity  and  inhumanity.  While  Pate  was  thus  tak- 
ing people  prisoners  without  legal  authority  or  writs,  he  was  joined  by 
Captain  Wood's  company  of  dragoons,  who,  so  far  from  putting  a  stop 
to  his  violent  career,  aided  him  in  it,  and  took  from  him,  at  his  desire, 
two  prisoners,  keeping  them  under  guard  in  their  camp,  heavily  ironed 
and  harshly  treated.  While  these  companies  were  thus  travelling  close 
to  each  other,  Captain  Pate's  company  burned  the  store  of  a  man  named 
Winer,  a  German;  the  home  of  John  Brown,  Jr.,  in  which,  among  a 


288  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

variety  of  household  articles,  a  valuable  library  was  consumed;  and  also 
the  house  of  another  of  the  Browns — for  the  old  man  had  six  grown 
sons ;  and  also  searched  houses,  men,  and  Free-State  settlers,  and  acted 
in  a  violent  and  lawless  manner  generally.  Not  being  able  to  find  Cap- 
tain Brown,  Sr.,  at  Osawatomie,  Pate's  company  and  the  troops  started 
back  for  the  Santa  Fe  road." 

James  Redpath,  in  the  "  Life  of  Brown,"  on  pages  136 
and  137,  says: 

"  When  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  Clay  Pate  reached  Missouri,  a 
force  of  twenty-one  hundred  mounted  men,  not  one  of  them  citizens  of 
Kansas,  set  out  from  the  border  village  of  Westport,  under  the  lead  of 
the  territorial  delegate  to  Congress,  with  the  triple  purpose  of  rescu- 
ing their  brother-highwaymen,  seizing  Old  Brown,  and  completing  the 
conquest  of  the  disputed  land.  *  *  *  But  the  Federal  troops  has- 
tened down,  and  induced  the  Missourians  to  retire ;  which,  knowing  our 
readiness  to  fight,  they  willingly  consented  to  do ;  but  not  until,  in  cold 
blood,  they  had  murdered  seven  Free-State  men,  not  one  of  whom  was 
armed,  when  they  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  invading  forces.  Mr. 
Cantrell  was  murdered  by  a  ruffian  named  Forman,  one  of  Captain 
Pate's  men,  who  was  wounded  at  Black  Jack,  carefully  nursed  at  Prairie 
City,  and  dismissed  by  his  captors  uninjured.  Of  such  were  the  South- 
ern companies." 

Other  testimony  of  the  "quieting"  effect  of  the  Potawat- 
omie  massacre  is  given  by  Andreas  on  page  133  of  his  his- 
tory: 

"  As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  Ossawatomie  murders  reached  the  Mis- 
souri border  towns,  the  soldiers  just  returned  from  Lawrence  were 
rallied  for  a  new  invasion,  not  as  before,  under  the  call  of  the  United 
States  Marshal,  but,  as  the  pro-slavery  papers  put  it,  to  protect  the 
pro-slavery  settlers  who  were  being  driven  from  their  homes  or  slaugh- 
tered without  mercy  by  their  abolition  neighbors." 

Holloway,  in  his  history,  on  page  351,  says  that  this  oc- 
currence, the  Potawatomie  massacre,  "  was  used  as  a  pretext 
for  new  outrages  by  Southerners  and  Missourians.  The 
usual  '  war  extras '  were  issued,"  etc. 

Andreas,  on  page  132,  says  of  Henry  Clay  Pate: 

"  On  hearing  of  the  murders,  he  set  out  for  Osawatomie  with  his 
company,  with  the  design  of  'capturing  or  killing  old  Brown,'  who  was 


ANDREA'S    STATEMENT.  289 

assumed  to  be  the  leader  of  the  murderous  gang.  The  old  man  was  in 
hiding  on  his  arrival.  Failing  to  find  him,  he  took  prisoners  two  of  his 
sons,  John  Brown,  Jr.,  and  Jason,  whom  he  found  at  work  upon  their 
claims,  on  suspicion  of  being  accessories  to  the  crime.  They  were 
charged  with  murder  and  put  in  irons.  Other  arrests  of  Free-State  men 
were  made  and  a  few  cabins  burned.  A  company  of  United  States 
dragoons,  under  Captain  Wood,  joined  Pate  soon  after  the  arrests  were 
made,  and  to  them  he  turned  over  his  prisoners.  On  the  3 1st  the  two 
companies  moved  together  as  far  as  Middle  Ottawa  Creek.  There  they 
separated.  *  *  *  Six  of  Henry  Clay  Pate's  men  had  that  day  (June 
1st)  made  a  raid  on  Palmyra,  in  retaliation  for  the  Potawatomie  mas- 
sacre, and  had  taken  several  prisoners,  among  them  two  of  the  Barrick- 
lows  and  Dr.  Graham.  They  then  concluded  they  would  go  over  to- 
Prairie  City  and  take  that  village  also." 

Page  133: 

"  In  addition  to  the  command  of  Captain  Pate,  whose  career  was 
temporarily  checked  at  Black  Jack,  a  considerable  force  was  raised  at 
Westport,  Independence,  and  other  Missouri  towns  for  a  new  invasion. 
The  commander-in-chief  was  General  Whitfield,  the  pro-slavery  dele- 
gate to  Congress,  who  had  left  the  Investigating  Committee,  then  in 
session  at  Leavenworth,  to  engage  in  the  more  congenial  work  of  or- 
ganizing and  leading  a  force  from  Missouri  into  the  Territory,  to 
'  whale  '  into  submission  the  abolition  part  of  the  constituency  he  claimed 
to  represent.  The  force  with  which  he  left  Westport  for  the  seat  of 
war  numbered  something  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  well  armed 
and  accounted  for  a  short  campaign.  He  entered  the  Territory  on 
June  2d." 

How  "quieting"!  These  hostile  demonstrations  from 
Missouri  once  more  called  together  the  Free-State  forces, 
which  attacked  and  captured  Pate  on  the  2d  of  June,  and  at- 
tacked, but  did  not  capture,  Franklin  on  June  4th.  Seeing 
a  civil  war  being  waged  with  all  the  earnestness  of  bitter 
partisans,  Governor  Shannon  issued  another  proclamation, 
and  called  upon  Colonel  Sumner  to  enforce  it.  This  proc- 
lamation begins  with  a  "Whereas,  information  has  been 
received  by  us  that  armed  bodies  of  men  exist  in  different 
parts  of  the  Territory,  who  have  committed  and  threaten  to 
commit  acts  of  lawless  violence  on  peaceable  and  unoffend- 
ing citizens — taking  them  prisoners,  despoiling  them  of  their 

19 


2QO  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

property,  and  threatening  great  personal  violence."  He 
proceeds  to  say  that  all  illegal  bodies  of  armed  men  must 
be  dispersed,  and  all  persons  of  whatever  party  must  be  pro- 
tected in  their  persons  and  property. 

Here  is  some  official  testimony  as  to  the  "  quieting  "  effect 
of  John  Brown's  war.  In  his  letter  to  the  President,  dated 
May  31,  1856,  Governor  Shannon  has  this: 

"  I  send  you  herewith  three  communications  which  I  have  received 
— one  from  General  Heiskell,  one  from  General  Barbee,  and  the  third 
from  Judge  Cato  (Xos.  3,  4,  and  5),  detailing  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  murder  of  six  men  in  the  County  of  Franklin,  which  is  the 
county  immediately  south  of  this.  Comment  is  unnecessary.  The  re- 
spectability of  the  parties  and  the  cruelties  attending  these  murders  have 
produced  an  extraordinary  state  of  excitement  in  that  portion  of  the 
Territory,  which  has  heretofore  remained  comparatively  quiet.  A- 
soon  as  •!  was  advised  of  these  horrid  murders,  I  sent  an  express  to 
Captain  Wood,  at  Lawrence,  to  move  out  into  that  section  of  country 
with  his  whole  command,  and  to  protect  the  people  as  far  as  possible 
from  these  midnight  assassins.  He  moved  with  his  whole  command 
immediately,  but  I  have  received  no  intelligence  from  him  yet.  I  hope 
the  offenders  may  be  brought  to  justice ;  if  so,  it  may  allay  to  a  great 
extent  the  excitement ;  otherwise,  I  fear  the  consequences. 

******* 

"  At  this  time  affairs  seem  to  wear  a  favorable  aspect,  except  in  the 
Wakarusa  valley,  and  south  of  Lawrence,  in  the  region  of  country 
where  the  recent  murders  were  perpetrated." 

Judge  Cato  testifies : 

"  PAOLA,  LYKIXS  Cor N TV,  May  27,  iS;(>. 

"DEAR  SIR:  You  will  have  learned,  perhaps,  before  this  reaches 
you,  that  Mr.  Allen  \Yilkinson,  Mr.  Doyle  and  two  sons,  and  Mr. 
Sherman,  all  of  Franklin  County,  were  on  Saturday  night  last  most 
foully  and  barbarously  murdered.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  fact 
that  such  murders  have  been  perpetrated,  and  that  the  community,  as  I 
understand,  generally  suspect  that  the  Browns  and  Partridges  are  the 
guilty  parties.  I  shall  do  everything  in  my  power  to  have  the  matter 
investigated,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the 
Free-State  men  in  Franklin  to  aid  in  having  the  laws  enforced.  As 
soon  as  the  proper  evidence  can  be  procured,  warrants  will  be  issued 
for  the  arrest  of  the  parties  suspected,  and  I  have  promised  the  officers 
to  whom  these  warrants  will  be  intrusted  all  the  aid  necessary  to  exe- 
cute the  law.  These  murders  were  most  foully  committed  in  the  night 


OFFICIAL    TESTIMONY.  291 

time  by  a  gang  of  some  twelve  or  fifteen  persons,  calling  on,  and  drag- 
ging from  their  houses,  defenseless  and  unsuspecting  citizens,  and, 
after  murdering,  mutilating  their  bodies  in  a  very  shocking  manner. 

"  As  the  murders  were  committed  in  the  night,  it  has  been  difficult, 
so  far,  to  identify  the  perpetrators.  I  hope,  however,  that  sufficient 
evidence  may  be  procured. 

"  Most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  General  William  Barbee."  "  S<  G>  CATO> 

"  CAMP  HEADQUARTERS,  SECOND  BRIGADE, 

"SOUTHERN  DIVISION,  KANSAS  MlLITIA, 

"  PAOLA,  Monday  morning,  May  25,  1856. 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  We  were  all  surprised  this  morning  by  the  sad  intelli- 
gence that  Allen  Wilkinson  (late  member  of  the  Legislature)  was,  to- 
gether with  a  Mr.  Sherman  and  three  Messrs.  Doyle,  on  Saturday 
night  taken  from  their  beds  by  the  abolitionists,  and,  in  the  hearing  of 
their  families,  ruthlessly  murdered  and  hacked  to  pieces ;  also,  a  man 
found  dead  at  the  Potawatomie.  There  were  some  twenty  in  the  gang. 
All  is  excitement  here ;  court  cannot  go  on. 

"  I  have  just  had  an  interview  with  the  bereaved  wife  and  family, 
that  they  spared,  also  a  McMinn  ;  all  of  whom  I  am  acquainted  with,  so 
that  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  report.  Families 
are  leaving  for  Missouri.  Yankees  concentrating  at  Osawatomie  and 
upon  the  Potawatomie,  also  at  Hickory  Point,  where  they  have  driven 
off  the  inhabitants  without  even  provisions  or  clothing,  save  what  they 
had  on. 

"  We  can,  perhaps,  muster  to-day,  including  the  Alabamians,  who 
are  now  encamped  on  Bull  Creek,  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  but 
will  need  a  force  here.  I  have  dispatched  to  Fort  Scott  for  one  hundred 
men.  The  men  will  come  from  Fort  Scott  under  Major  Hill.  There 
will  be  more  men  in  readiness,  if  needed,  at  Fort  Scott.  We  are  desti- 
tute of  arms  ;  send  wagons  for  both  my  brigade  and  General  Heiskell's, 
we  are  together ;  we  have  scarcely  any  arms.  I  wait  further  orders. 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  BARBEE, 
"  Commanding  Second  Brigade,  S.  D.  K.  M." 

General  William  A.  Heiskell  writes : 

"  PAOLA,  May  26,  1856. 

"  DEAR  SIR:  All  here  is  excitement  and  confusion.  We  have  just 
heard  of  the  murder  on  Saturday  night  of  Allen  Wilkinson,  Doyle  and 
his  two  brothers,  and  William  Sherman ;  all  living  in  Franklin  County, 
near  Potawatomie  Creek.  The  body  of  another  man  has  been  found  at 
the  ford  of  Potawatomie.  These  murders,  it  is  supposed,  were  com- 


2Q2  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

mitted  by  the  abolitionists  of  Osawatomie  and  Potawatomie  creeks,  on 
their  return  from  Lawrence. 

"  How  long  shall  these  things  continue?  How  long  shall  our  citizens, 
unarmed  and  defenseless,  be  exposed  to  this  worse  than  savage  cruelty? 
Wilkinson,  it  is  said,  was  taken  from  his  bed,  leaving  a  sick  wife  and 
children,  and  butchered  in  their  sight.  The  two  young  Doyles  were 
unarmed,  and  shot  down  on  the  prairie  like  dogs. 

"  We  have  here  but  few  men,  and  they  wholly  unarmed.  We  shall 
gather  together  for  our  own  defense  as  many  men  as  we  can ;  we  hope 
you  will  send  us  as  many  arms  as  possible,  and  if,  under  the  circum- 
stances, you  can  do  so,  send  as  many  men  as  you  may  think  necessary. 
General  Barbee  is  here.  He  has  sent  to  Fort  Scott  for  aid.  We  must 
organize  such  forces  as  we  can,  but  for  God's  sake  send  arms.  General 
Coffey  is  in  the  neighborhood ;  I  have  not  yet  had  an  opportunity  to  see 
him ;  he  will  be  here  to-day. 

"  We  hope  to  be  able  to  identify  some  of  the  murderers,  as  Mr. 
Harris,  who  was  in  their  hands,  was  released,  and  will  probably  know 
some  of  them.  Yours  truly, 

"  WILLIAM  A.  HEISKELL. 
Governor  Wilson  shannon, 

Colonel  Sumner,  in  his  letter  to  the  Adjutant-General  of 
the  army,  dated  May  28,  1856,  says  :  "  From  present  appear- 
ances, it  looks  very  much  like  running  into  a  guerrilla  war- 
fare. *  *  *  As  the  affair  now  stands,  there  is  great 
danger  of  our  being  compelled  to  use  force." 

Governor  Shannon  writes : 

"  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  LF.COMPTON,  K.  T.,  May  27,  1856. 
"  SIR:  I  received  last  night,  about  twelve  o'clock,  reliable  informa- 
tion by  a  special  dispatch  from  Osawatomie,  in  the  County  of  Franklin, 
that  on  last  Saturday  night  five  persons  had  been  taken  out  of  their 
houses  and  cruelly  murdered ;  that  it  seemed  to  be  a  regular  system  of 
private  assassination  which  the  Free-State  party  had  adopted  towards 
their  opponents.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  am  compelled  to  send 
into  that  country  Captain  Woods  with  his  whole  command,  who  is  sta- 
tioned at  Lawrence,  leaving  that  place  without  any  force.  I  have  to 
ask  you,  therefore,  to  send  me  two  more  companies,  with  directions  for 
them  to  camp  at  or  near  Lawrence  until  they  receive  further  orders. 
"  Yours,  with  great  respect, 

"  WILSON  SHANNON. 
"  Colonel  Simmer." 

Major  John  Sedgwick  writes  to  Colonel  Sumner,  June 


OFFICIAL    TESTIMONY.  293 

i,   1856:    "There  are,  undoubtedly,   many  outrages  com- 
mitted daily  ;  some  of  them  of  the  most  atrocious  character." 
Colonel  P.  St.  George  Cooke,  in  a  letter  to  the  Adjutant- 
General,  dated  June,    1856,   said:    "The   disorders  of  the 
Territory  have,  in  fact,  changed  their  character,  and  consist 
now  of  robberies    and  assassinations,  by  a  set  of  bandits 
whom  the  excitement  of  the  times  has  attracted  hither." 
Colonel  Sumner  writes : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  CAVALRY, 

"  FORT  LEAVEN  WORTH,  June  23,  1856. 

"  SIR:  I  returned  to  this  post  last  night.  I  have  been  busily  en- 
gaged in  dispersing  armed  bodies  of  both  parties,  and  have  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  do  it  without  meeting  resistance. 

"  I  have  stationed  five  companies  in  two  camps  near  Westport,  to 
prevent  any  further  inroads  from  that  part  of  Missouri. 

"  I  do  not  think  there  is  an  armed  party  in  the  Territory,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  freebooters,  who  may  be  together  in  small  numbers. 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  E.  V.  SUMNER, 

"  Colonel  First  Cavalry,  Commanding. 
"Assistant  Adjutant- General,  Department  of  the  West,  St.  Louis,  Mo." 

"  HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  CAVALRY, 

"  FORT  LEAVKNWORTH,  June  23,  1856. 

"  COLONEL:  I  returned  to  this  post  last  night.  On  the  I4th  instant 
I  concentrated  several  companies  at  Palmyra,  on  the  Santa  Fe  road,  and 
moved  down  that  road  towards  the  Missouri  line.  I  met  two  armed 
parties  on  their  way  into  the  Territory — one  from  Missouri  and  one 
from  Alabama — but  they  both  returned  into  Missouri. 

"  I  do  not  think  there  is  an  armed  body  of  either  party  now  in  the 
Territory,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  a  few  freebooters,  who  may 
be  together  in  small  numbers.  These  fellows  belong  to  both  parties, 
and  are  taking  advantage  of  the  political  excitement  to  commit  their  own 
rascally  acts.  I  have  stationed  five  companies  near  the  Missouri  line, 
to  indicate  plainly  to  all  that  the  orders  of  the  President  and  the  procla- 
mation of  the  Governor  will  be  maintained. 

"  I  am,  Colonel,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  E.  V.  STMNER, 

"  Colonel  First  Cavalry,  Commanding. 
"  Colonel  S.  Cooper,  Adjutant-General.'1'' 

"  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  June  14,  1856. 
"  SIR  :  I  send  you  two  copies  of  the  proclamation — all  I  can  find. 


294  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  The  complaints  of  robberies  on  the  roads  near  Westport  are  dis- 
tressing. 

"  I  hope  you  will  clear  those  roads  and  drive  those  people  back  at 
once.  Yours,  etc., 

"  W.  SHANNON. 
"  Colonel  Sumner" 

While  the  war  of  murder  and  pillage  thus  inaugurated  was 
being  prosecuted  by  the  revolutionists  in  a  private  manner, 
the  larger  bodies  were  becoming  formidable.  Pate's  com- 
pany was  encountered  at  Black  Jack  on  the  2d  of  June  by 
about  thirty  Free-State  men,  and,  after  exchanging  shots 
several  hours  from  the  ravines  and  tall  grass,  Pate,  seeing 
Captain  Abbott  with  his  company  approaching  to  reinforce 
the  Free-State  men,  surrendered.  No  serious  harm  was 
done.  A  skirmish  was  had  at  Franklin  on  the  4th  of  June, 
and  Osawatomie  was  sacked  by  the  pro-slavery  forces.  Of 
this  attack,  Gihon  says : 

"  On  the  7th,  Reid,  with  one  hundred  and  seventy  men,  marched 
into  Osawatomie,  and,  without  resistance,  entered  each  house,  robbing 
it  of  everything  of  value.  There  were  but  few  men  in  town,  and  the 
women  and  children  were  treated  with  the  utmost  brutality.  Stores 
and  dwellings  were  alike  entered  and  pillaged.  Trunks,  boxes,  and 
desks  were  broken  open,  and  their  contents  appropriated  or  destroyed. 
Even  rings  were  rudely  pulled  from  the  ears  and  fingers  of  the  women, 
and  some  of  the  apparel  from  their  persons.  The  liquor  found  was 
freely  drunk,  and  served  to  incite  the  plunderers  to  increased  violence 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  mischievous  work.  Having  completely 
stripped  the  town,  they  set  fire  to  several  houses,  and  then  beat  a  rapid 
retreat,  carrying  off  a  number  of  horses,  and  loudly  urging  each  other 
to  greater  haste,  as  '  the  d — d  abolitionists  were  coming!'  There  are 
hundreds  of  well-authenticated  accounts  of  the  cruelties  practised  by 
this  horde  of  ruffians ;  some  of  them  too  shocking  and  disgusting  to 
relate,  or  to  be  accredited  if  told.  The  tears  and  shrieks  of  terrified 
women  folded  in  their  foul  embrace  failed  to  touch  a  chord  of  mercy 
in  their  brutal  hearts  ;  and  the  mutilated  bodies  of  murdered  men  hang- 
ing upon  the  trees,  or  left  to  rot  upon  the  prairies  or  in  the  deep 
tavines,  or  furnish  food  for  vultures  and  wild  beasts,  told  frightful 
stories  of  brutal  ferocity,  from  which  the  wildest  savages  might  have 
shrunk  with  horror." 


COLONEL    SUMNER'S    REPORT.  295 

All  these  movements  resulted  from  the  massacre.  Colonel 
Sumner,  in  accordance  with  the  Governor's  proclamation, 
took  the  field,  and  soon  sent  home  the  Missourians  as  well 
as  the  Free-State  forces.  John  Brown  subsided  or  left  the 
country,  and  comparative  quiet  was  restored. 

Colonel  Sumner  thus  refers  to  his  action  in  a  letter  to  the 
Adjutant-General,  U.  S.  A.,  under  date  of  June  8,  1856  : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  CAVALRY, 

"  FORT  LEAVENWORTH,  June  8,  1856. 

"  COLONEL:  I  have  just  returned  to  this  post  to  prepare  the  last  two 
companies  of  my  regiment  to  take  the  field.  On  the  5th  instant,  as 
soon  as  I  received  the  inclosed  proclamation,  I  moved  from  Lecompton 
with  about  fifty  men  to  disperse  a  band  of  free-soilers  who  were  en- 
camped near  Prairie  City ;  this  band  had  a  fight  with  the  pro-slavery 
party,  and  had  taken  twenty-six  prisoners.  As  I  approached  them, 
they  sent  out  to  request  me  to  halt,  which  of  course  was  not  done,  and 
the  leaders  then  came  out  to  meet  me  as  I  was  advancing.  They  yielded 
at  once,  and  I  ordered  them  to  release  all  prisoners  and  to  disperse 
immediately,  which  was  complied  with.  While  engaged  in  this  camp 
in  seeing  my  orders  carried  into  effect,  I  received  intelligence  that  two 
or  three  hundred  of  the  pro-slavery  party,  from  Missouri  and  elsewhere, 
were  approaching,  and  I  immediately  turned  my  attention  to  them.  I 
found  them  halted  at  two  miles'  distance  (about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
strong),  and,  to  my  great  surprise,  I  found  Colonel  Whitfield,  the  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  and  General  Coffey,  of  the  militia,  at  their  head.  I 
said  to  these  gentlemen  that  I  was  there  by  order  of  the  President  and 
the  proclamation  of  the  Governor  to  disperse  all  armed  bodies  assem- 
bled without  authority ;  and  further,  that  my  duty  was  perfectly  plain, 
and  would  certainly  be  done.  I  then  requested  General  Coffey  to  as- 
semble his  people,  and  I  read  to  them  the  President's  dispatch  and  the 
Governor's  proclamation. 

"  The  General  then  said  that  he  should  not  resist  the  authority  of 
the  general  Government,  and  that  his  party  would  disperse,  and  shortly 
afterwards  they  moved  off.  Whether  this  is  a  final  dispersion  of  these 
lawless  armed  bodies  is  very  doubtful." 

Colonel  Sumner's  efforts  so  far  succeeded  as  to  enable 
General  Smith,  who  succeeded  him  in  command,  to  write  on 
July  26,  1856,  as  follows:  "Colonel:  Everything  has  been 
tranquil  in  the  department  since  I  assumed  command.  In 
the  Territory  of  Kansas  there  have  been  no  disturbances,  but 


296  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

emigrants  are  coming  in  armed,  as  though  they  were  pre- 
pared to  begin  again  when  an  opportunity  offers." 

Also,  August  ist  he  wrote:  "Things  remain  apparently 
quiet  in  Kansas  Territory,  and  I  hear  of  no  threatened  hos- 
tilities from  Indians." 

Governor  Shannon  and  Colonel  Sumner  construed  their 
instructions  from  headquarters  to  require  the  dispersion  of 
the  State  Legislature,  which  was  to  meet  on  the  4th  of  July. 
This  was  done  by  Colonel  Sumner  in  a  manner  to  entitle 
him  as  a  man  and  officer  to  the  respect  of  the  Free-State 
men,  believing  he  was  simply  obeying  orders  from  his  superi- 
ors. But  such  was  the  detestation  in  which  the  act  was  held 
throughout  the  country,  that  the  President  and  Secretary  of 
War  denied  all  responsibility  for  it,  and  left  Sumner  under  a 
cloud  of  implied  censure,  which  he  resented  in  his  corre- 
spondence. 

As  this  was  to  be  an  inexcusable  interference  with  the 
rights  of  the  people,  even  though  by  Federal  authority,  the 
1  .egislature  would  be  justified  before  the  world  in  making  at 
least  a  show  of  resistance.  Accordingly,  the  treason  prison- 
ers sent  this  letter  to  the  members  of  the  Legislature : 

CAMP  NEAR  LECOMPTON,  KANSAS,  July  i,  1856. 
"To  the  Friends  of  Law  and  Order,1  convened  at  Topcka  : 

"  The  undersigned  desire  to  say  a  word  to  their  friends  in  regard  to 
the  present  aspect  of  affairs  in  Kansas. 

"It  is  highly  important  at  this  time  that  the  oppressed  people  of 
Kansas  should  occupy  a  tenable  position,  one  which  the  country  and 
the  world  will  sustain.  There  is,  it  seems  to  us,  a  position  which  we 
can  occupy  and  be  triumphant,  whether  overcome  by  numbers  or  not ; 
while  there  is  another  position,  which,  if  taken,  would  prejudice  our 
cause  and  might  lead  to  defeat,  and  weaken  the  confidence  and  support 
of  our  friends  in  the  country. 

"  The  first  and  true  position  is,  defense  of  the  State  organization. 
You  have  a  constitutional  right  to  meet  as  a  Legislature,  complete  the 
State  organization,  and  pass  all  laws  necessary  to  the  successful  admin- 
istration of  justice,  and  the  Federal  Government  has  no  authority  to 
interfere  with  you  in  the  exercise  of  this  right ;  should  it  do  so,  resist- 
ance becomes  justifiable  self-defense. 


LETTER    OF    TREASON    PRISONERS.  297 

"  The  second  and  untenable  position  is  resistance  to  a  Federal  officer 
in  the  service  of  a  legal  process,  when  the  defense  of  the  State  organiza- 
tion is  not  involved.  Should  a  collision  occur  under  such  circumstances, 
it  would  be  most  unfortunate,  and  should  be  avoided  if  possible.  If 
an  attempt,  however,  is  made  to  arrest  the  members  of  the  State  organ- 
ization merely  because  they  are  such,  with  a  view  to  disable  it,  then 
resistance  becomes  defense  of  the  State  organization,  and  is  manifestly 
justifiable. 

"Accordingly,  all  persons  against  whom  indictments  are  known  to 
be  pending,  for  any  other  charge  than  that  of  being  a  member  of  the 
State  organization,  should  not  be  found  at  the  capital,  as  that  might  in- 
volve the  people  in  their  cases.  We  feel  that  our  hope  of  success  in 
this  important  crisis  depends,  first,  upon  a  right  position,  and  second, 
upon  calm  and  unflinching  firmness. 

"  You  have  met  for  the  purpose  of  doing  what  other  new  States 
have  done,  and  what  you  have  a  constitutional  right  to  do,  and  no  man 
or  class  of  men  have  a  right  to  interfere,  not  excepting  even  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

"  Our  desire  to  be  with  you  in  this  crowning  emergency  is  almost 
irresistible,  and  nothing  but  the  fear  that  your  position  might  be  changed 
from  a  defense  of  the  State  organization  to  a  resistance  to  our  re-arrest, 
can  reconcile  us  to  this  absence.  As  it  is,  you  have  our  earnest  solici- 
tude and  fervent  prayers  that  all  may  go  on  well  with  you,  and  that  you 
may  earn,  as  you  will  if  every  step  is  judiciously  and  firmly  taken,  the 
gratitude  of  millions  of  your  fellow-men  and  the  approbation  of  the  God 
of  Justice  and  Humanity. 

"  GEORGE  W.  SMITH, 
"CHARLES  ROBINSON, 
"  GAIUS  JENKINS, 
"  G.  W.  DEITZLER, 
"  HENRY  H.  WILLIAMS, 
'.'JOHN  BROWN,  JR." 

Colonel  Sumner  reported  his  action  on  that  occasion  to 
Washington,  and  the  following  endorsement  was  made  upon 
his  report : 

' '  The  President's  proclamation  having  been  sent  from  this  depart- 
ment to  Colonel  Sumner,  as  a  part  of  his  instructions,  a  general  refer- 
ence to  that  paper  is  no  compliance  with  the  requirements  of  the  letter 
addressed  to  him,  dated  July  21,  1856.  If  any  portion  of  that  procla- 
mation was  understood  as  directing  military  officers  to  use  the  force 
under  their  command  for  the  dispersion  of  an  illegal  legislative  body, 
that  part  of  the  proclamation  should  have  been  specially  cited. 


298  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  If  the  '  serious  consequences  '  anticipated  by  the  Colonel  command- 
ing First  Cavalry  from  the  convention  of  the  Free-State  Legislature  of 
Kansas  had  been  realized,  it  might  have  been  necessary  for  him  to  use 
the  military  force  under  his  command  to  suppress  resistance  to  the  exe- 
cution of  the  laws,  and  he  would  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  his  author- 
ity, both  in  the  President's  proclamation  and  in  the  letter  of  instructions 
which  accompanied  it.  But  if  the  exigency  was  only  anticipated,  it  is 
not  perceived  how  authority  is  to  be  drawn  from  either,  or  both,  to 
employ  a  military  force  to  disperse  men  because  they  were  'elected  and 
organized  without  law.' 

"  The  reference  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Missourians  seems  to  be 
wholly  inappropriate  to  the  subject  under  consideration,  and  the  depart- 
ment is  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  that  reference  is  made ;  the  more 
so  because,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  from  Colonel  Sumner,  he  was  dis- 
tinctly informed  by  letter  of  March,  1856,  that  the  department  expected 
him,  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  to  make  no  discrimination,  founded 
on  the  section  of  the  country  from  which  persons  might  or  had  come. 
"JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  Secretary  of  War. 

"  WAR  DEPARTMENT,  August  27,  1856." 

Thus  it  appears  that,  had  there  been  a  conflict,  the  action 
of  Sumner  would  not  have  been  sustained,  and  the  victory 
would  have  been  with  the  Free-State  party. 

Colonel  Sumner  visited  the  prisoner's  camp  after  this 
transaction,  and  complained  that  the  Legislature  compelled 
him  to  make  a  show  of  force,  when  Robinson  told  him  the 
movement  was  violating  a  constitutional  right  of  the  people, 
and  had  he  been  at  Topeka,  he  would  have  made  it  neces- 
sary for  him  to  kill  some  om  in  doing  so.  Colonel  Sumner 
replied  that  he  would  not  iiave  killed  any  one,  but  would 
have  arrested  them.  Yet  he  had  no  writs  for  such  arrest. 

As,  after  the  shipment  of  the  Free-State  people  from 
Leavenworth  down  the  river,  after  the  Potawatomie  massa- 
cre, it  became  unsafe  for  immigrants  from  the  North  and  I  ,a^t 
to  travel  that  route,  a  way  was  opened  through  Iowa  and 
Nebraska.  During  the  summer  large  parties  were  raised  all 
through  the  Northern  States,  more  or  less  well  armed  and 
equipped  for  their  own  protection.  With  some  of  these 
parties  Lane  and  Brown  appeared  on  the  line  of  Nebraska. 


ARRIVAL    OF    LANE    AND    BROWN.  299 

But  those  in  charge  of  the  parties  were  unwilling  to  enter 
the  Territory  under  their  auspices,  and  went  by  themes Ives. 
Professor  Spring,  in  his  "  Kansas,"  page  169,  says: 

"July  29th,  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe  and  Thaddeus  Hyatt,  representatives 
of  the  National  Kansas  Committee  sent  out  to  investigate  matters,  reached 
the  Nebraska  camp.  They  found  many  of  the  immigrants  in  forlorn 
condition — ragged,  almost  penniless,  poorly  supplied  with  even  the 
scanty  furniture  of  a  camper's  outfit.  Leadership  had  fallen  into  Lane's 
hands,  and  the  whole  expedition  became  accredited  to  him,  though  he  was 
neither  directly  nor  indirectly  concerned  in  raising  more  than  a  fourth 
part  of  it.  The  committee  demanded  that  his  connection  with  it  should 
be  completely  severed  on  penalty  of  withholding  further  supplies.  Con- 
siderations which  led  to  this  summary  step  were  the  fact  that  papers 
had  been  made  out  for  Lane's  arrest — a  circumstance  which  might  lead 
to  complications  ;  that  in  an  emergency  his  discretion  and  self-command 
could  not  be  trusted.  These  considerations,  the  committee  reported, 
'conspired  to  create  a  well-grounded  apprehension  in  our  minds  that,  by 
some  hasty  and  ill-timed  splurge,  he  would  defeat  the  object  of  the  ex- 
pedition if  suffered  to  remain  even  in  otherwise  desirable  proximity.' 
Lane  took  the  decision  much  to  heart.  *  *  *  But  he  sullenly 
yielded,  set  off  towards  the  Territory  with  old  John  Brown,  Captain 
Samuel  Walker,  and  three  or  four  others." 

Both  of  these  men  appeared  at  Topeka,  August  10,  1856, 
and  commenced  operations.  Lane  had  been  absent  since 
early  in  March,  and,  as  Brown  was  usually  in  hiding,  it  was 
not  definitely  known  when  he  left  the  Territory.  As  has 
been  seen  by  the  dispatches  of  General  Smith,  quiet  had 
been  partially  restored  since  the  Potawatomie  killing,  and 
this,  of  all  things,  was  what  Brown,  and  perhaps  Lane, 
would  most  dislike.  But  if  they  had  had  their  way  this 
quiet  would  soon  have  been  exchanged  for  general  war 
against  the  Federal  Government.  John  Brown  sent  word 
from  his  hiding-place,  near  Topeka,  to  his  son,  John,  Jr., 
with  the  treason  prisoners,  proposing  a  rescue  from  the  sol- 
diers who  had  him  in  charge. 

Redpath,  in  his  "  Life  of  Brown,"  page  142,  says  :  "  Slowly 
coming  to  the  Territory,  with  a  little  army,  but  a  mightier 
influence  of  inspiring  rude  men  with  furious  passions,  was 


300  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

General  'Jim  Lane';  while  in  the  woods,  near  the  town 
[Topeka],  lay  John  Brown  encamped,  who  did  not  despair, 
but  was  ready  to  release  the  prisoners  at  Lecompton,  or 
attack  the  dragoons,  if  the  party  would  advise  it.  They  did 
not;  and -he  left  the  town." 

Lane  sent  this  letter,  written  with  his  own  hand,  to  the 
treason  prisoners : 

"  TOPEKA,  August  10,  1856. 

"DEAR  FRIENDS:  I  am  here  at  last  with  a  sufficient  force  and 
ready  to  rescue  you. 

"  It  were  better  if  you  can  escape  to  do  so,  and  let  me  meet  you  with 
my  defending  force  just  outside  of  your  prison-house. 

"  It  is  necessary  for  me  to  remind  you  that  time  is  all-important — 
my  whereabouts  cannot  long  be  concealed  from  the  bloodhounds  who 
are  seeking  my  blood.  Act  promptly ;  if  you  cannot  escape,  I  can  and 
will  attack  your  guard,  although  it  were  better  policy,  if  blood  is  to  flow, 
that  it  be  shed  in  your  defense  rather  than  in  your  rescue ;  decide,  and 
that  quickly.  Time  is  everything. 

"  Yours,  etc., 

"J.  H.  LANE. 

"71?  His  Excellency  C.  Robinson,  Governor  State  of  Kansas ;  George 
W.  Smith,  Councillor ;  General  George  W.  Deitzler,  George  IV. 
Brown,  Esq.,  Hon.  John  Brown,  and  others,  Free-State  prisoners 
at  Lecompton." 

The  Attorney-General  of  Ohio  wrote  to  Eli  Thayer,  from 
Columbus,  May  30,  1856,  and  said: 

"  I  have  had  a  long  personal  interview  with  him  [Lane]. 
I  might  add  that  the  great  inducement  for  Lane's  immediate  return,  and 
which  has  induced  him  to  do  so,  is  to  save  Governor  Robinson.     He 
thinks  he  has  only  one  hope — a  rescue." 

"  Truly  your  obedient  servant, 

"  F.  D.  KIMBAI.L, 
"  Attorney-General  of  Ohio." 

Lane  came  into  the  Territory  disguised  as  "  Captain  Joe 
Cook."  He  always  magnified  his  importance  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  pro-slavery  men,  and  always  would  make  it 
appear  that  they  were  after  his  "  heart's  blood."  It  is  true, 
some  Administration  men  regarded  Lane  as  a  disturber  and 


LANE'S    DISGUISE.  301 

mischievous  character,  yet  the  ultra  men  did  not  want  him 
arrested  or  disturbed  in  his  career.  His  disguise,  of  course, 
was  the  merest  sham,  as  his  identity  was  always  known,  and 
he  could  have  been  arrested  at  any  time  by  a  single  orderly  of 
Colonel  Sumner  or  any  other  United  States  officer.  The 
same  also  was  true  with  reference  to  John  Brown,  although 
Redpath,  and  perhaps  others,  claim  that  no  man  dared 
arrest  him.  These  men  depended  upon  the  Free-State  party 
for  their  protection,  if  in  danger,  and  that  party  could  not 
be  brought  in  conflict  with  Federal  authority  on  account  of  a 
regiment  of  Browns,  Lanes,  or  any  other  such  characters.  In 
fact,  it  is  notorious,  that  a  large  number  of  the  leading  Free- 
State  men,  those  who  devised  the  policy  of  the  party,  re- 
garded the  cause  as  much  safer  in  their  absence  than  when 
they  were  present. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FREE-STATE  AND  PRO-SLAVERY  FORCES. ARRIVAL  OF  GOV- 
ERNOR GEARY. END  OF  THE  WAR. THE  PARTS  PLAYED 

BY  BROWN  AND  LANE. 

SEVERAL  questions  will  arise  for  the  future  historian  re- 
garding the  motives  that  led  Brown  and  Lane  to  propose  a 
rescue  of  the  treason  prisoners  from  the  custody  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  United  States  army.  The  arrest  of  Deitzler, 
Brown,  Smith,  Jenkins,  and  Robinson,  on  a  charge  of 
treason,  and  their  confinement  with  the  officers  in  whose 
hands  was  placed  largely  the  responsibility  for  the  peace  of 
the  Territory,  was  the  best  investment  for  the  Free-State 
cause,  and  the  worst  for  its  opponents,  that  was  made  dur- 
ing that  season,  excepting  only  the  destruction  of  the  hotel 
and  printing  offices  by  bogus  officers.  During  most  of  the 
season,  the  prisoners  were  in  immediate  charge  of  Captain 
Sackett,  under  Major  Sedgwick  and  Colonel  Sumner,  all 
Free- State  men  and  in  full  sympathy  with  the  prisoners  and 
their  cause.  The  prisoners  were  in  daily,  and  sometimes  in 
hourly,  communication  with  the  Free-State  men  outside,  and 
with  the  Captain  in  charge  at  all  hours.  Thus  the  United 
States  officers  knew  with  absolute  certainty  how  far  the 
Free-State  men  would  go,  and  were  in  no  fear  of  being  com- 
promised by  them.  They  were  also  kept  informed  in  regard 
to  every  movement  of  the  two  parties,  including  the  terri- 
torial officers,  bogus  or  otherwise.  The  Governor  and  his 
party  became  aware  of  all  this,  and  tried  hard  to  cut  off 
communication  between  the  prisoners  and  their  friends  out- 


OBJECT  OF  LANE  AND  BROWN.  303 

side.  Failing  in  this,  word  was  sent  to  General  Smith  to 
have  them  removed  to  Fort  Leavenworth.  Even  this  was 
declined.  In  Mrs.  Robinson's  "Kansas,"  page  319,  these 
efforts  are  referred  to  as  follows : 

"  On  the  2Oth  [of  July]  Cramer,  the  deputy  marshal,  came  to  camp, 
and  ordered  Captain  Sackett  not  to  allow  any  person  to  converse  with 
the  prisoners  privately.  '  His  responsibility,  since  the  sacking  of  Law- 
rence, in  regard  to  the  prisoners,  had  weighed  upon  him  much.'  But 
Captain  Sackett  at  once  informed  him,  '  he  need  give  himself  no  further 
trouble  on  the  subject,  as  the  responsibility  of  their  safe-keeping  rested 
upon  him.'  The  little  fellow  appeared  pleased;  but  his  wrath  was  only 
pent  up.  He  met  a  man  soon  after  leaving  camp,  and  poured  it  forth 
in  execrations  upon  the  Captain,  declaring  that  '  Robinson  was  more  the 
Governor  of  the  Territory  than  Shannon  ' ;  that  '  the  prisoners  should 
be  taken  from  Captain  Sackett's  charge,  and  that  their  lives  would  not 
be  safe  an  hour.'  On  the  2 1st  the  little  deputy  came  again,  with  a  letter 
from  Governor  Shannon,  in  which  he  advised  that  '  persons  and  letters 
be  not  allowed  to  go  into  camp ;  that  the  Territory  had  never  been  in  so 
bad  a  condition ;  that  he  believed  the  prisoners  were  implicated  in  these 
disturbances,  and  in  great  measure  the  occasion  of  them.'  Cramer,  at 
the  Captain's  tent,  also  said,  '  The  Governor  don't  know  what  to  do.' 
He  talked  so  loudly  it  was  quite  impossible  not  to  hear  what  was  said. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  only  two  days  had  passed  since  the  Governor 
had  been  informed  that,  if  such  outrages  as  that  of  Titus  continued,  the 
people  would  try  to  suppress  them.  Word  was  returned  to  the  Gov- 
ernor from  Captain  Sackett,  that  '  he  had  his  orders  from  Colonel  Sum- 
ner  to  give  up  the  prisoners  to  the  civil  authorities  if  unnecessary  restric- 
tions were  placed  upon  them. '  Governor  Shannon  immediately  sent  to 
Captain  Sackett  that  '  he  did  not  know  he  had  orders  from  Colonel 
Sumner,  but,  if  he  had,  of  course  he  must  obey  them.'  He  swore, 
however,  '  he  would  see  if  he  could  not  make  Captain  Sackett  obey 
orders,'  and  sent  an  express  to  General  Smith  at  the  fort.  General 
Smith  proposed  not  to  interfere  in  matters  in  the  Territory,  and,  no 
change  being  made  in  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  the  Governor  was 
disappointed,  and  unable  to  carry  out  his  threats.  On  the  iQth  he  was 
heard  to  say,  as  at  many  other  times,  '  that  Governor  Robinson  would 
be  hung.'  " 

Not  only  did  the  confinement  of  these  men  help  the  cause 
in  Kansas,  but  it  had  a  most  beneficial  effect  throughout  the 
country.  Here  were  five  men  charged  with  a  "  constructive  " 
crime,  held  in  confinement  on  the  prairie,  pouring  "  hot 


304  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

shot "  in  the  shape  of  letters  to  the  press  of  the  country, 
dated  at  "  Treason  Camp,"  which  did  more  to  damage  the 
Administration  politically  than  these  men  could  have  done 
at  liberty  in  any  capacity. 

Then  why  did  Lane  and  Brown  propose  the  rescue '? 

In  Brown's  case  the  answer  is  easy,  as  Redpath's  biog- 
raphy, his  own  confessions,  and  his  later  course  in  Virginia 
show  that  a  desire  for  revolution  and  civil  war  actuated  him. 
Did  it  also  actuate  Lane  ?  Brown  and  Lane  agreed  in  a 
policy  that  would  have  produced  this  result  at  the  Waka- 
rusa  war  the  fall  before ;  and  were  they  acting  in  concert 
and  by  previous  agreement  now  ? '  Or,  did  Lane  believe 
such  a  course  would  be  the  overthrow  of  the  Free-State 
cause  and  the  establishment  of  a  slave  State  in  Kansas, 
which  he  had  preferred  ?  According  to  official  report  of 
army  officers,  he  was  seen  in  friendly  communion  with  Gen- 
eral Richardson,  of  the  territorial  militia,  when  the  bogus 
officials  were  pretending  to  want  him  arrested.  Was  he  in 
collusion  with  the  enemy  to  betray  and  ruin  the  Free-State 
cause  ?  He  was  well  aware  that  the  treason  prisoners  be- 
lieved him  to  be  totally  without  convictions  or  principles  of 
any  kind,  cowardly  and  treacherous.  Did  he  desire  their 
destruction  by  the  army,  which  certainly  would  have  shot 
them  down  like  dogs  had  a  rescue  been  attempted  ?  Jen- 
kins, one  of  these  prisoners,  whose  claim  he  had  jumped,  he 
afterward  killed  with  his  own  hands  in  a  most  cold-blooded 
and  cowardly  manner.  These  questions  will  not  be  answered 
by  the  writer,  for  it  is  too  early.  The  future  historian,  how- 
ever, will  consider  them. 

Notwithstanding  armed  bodies  of  men  had  disappeared 
under  the  active  operations  of  Colonel-  Sumner,  to  such  an 
extent  that  General  Smith  could  say  all  was  peace  and  quiet 
on  the  surface,  there  was  no  time  during  the  summer  that 
Brown's  disciples,  such  as  Whipple,  or  Stevens  and  Cook, 
both  of  whom  lost  their  lives  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Leonhardt 
and  others,  were  not  more  or  less  active  in  the  "  reprisal " 


GUERRILLA    PARTIES.  305 

business.  Professor  Spring,  in  his  "  Kansas,"  says ;  "  So 
great  was  the  enterprise  and  success  in  what  one  of  the 
victims  called  '  the  roguing  business,'  that  few  pro-slavery 
men  of  the  neighborhood  [Topeka]  escaped.  Free-State 
depredators,  in  larger  or  smaller  gangs,  scoured  the  region, 
filling  the  air  with  profanity,  intimidating  pro-slavery  settlers,, 
shooting  at  those  who  were  not  sufficiently  docile,  and  plun- 
dering right  and  left."  While  the  Free-State  men  were  thus 
active,  the  pro-slavery  men  were  by  no  means  idle.  Their 
thefts  and  robberies,  if  they  did  not  equal  those  of  the  Free- 
State  men,  were  not  far  behind.  As  no  forces  were  permit- 
ted by  the  vigilance  of  Colonel  Sumner  to  take  the  field, 
both  parties  established  places  of  rendezvous,  from  which 
they  could  emerge,  accomplish  their  work,  and  return.  The 
bases  of  operations  for  the  Free-State  men  were  the  larger 
settlements,  like  Topeka,  Lawrence,  and  Osawatomie,  while 
the  pro-slavery  men,  having  but  few  towns  of  importance, 
resorted  to  log  cabins  and  camps  on  creeks  and  other  favor- 
able places.  Several  of  these  camps  were  established  during 
the  summer.  One  was  in  southern  Kansas,  near  Osawato- 
mie, one  at  Franklin,  one  at  Fort  Saunders,  and  one  at 
Titus's  house,  near  Lecompton. 

When  the  depredations  from  these  nests  of  thieves  and 
plunderers  became  intolerable,  it  was  decided  to  break  them 
up.  As  John  Brown  had  left  southern  Kansas  for  Ne- 
braska, Captain  Cracklin,  with  a  company  from  Lawrence, 
went  for  the  fort  near  Osawatomie  and  frightened  the  occu- 
pants away.  This  was  about  the  8th  of  August.  Fort 
Saunders,  on  Washington  Creek,  had  become  quite  trouble- 
some to  the  neighbors,  and  after  repeated  appeals  to  the 
authorities  for  protection,  the  people  took  the  matter  in  hand. 
A  sta*unch  Free-State  man,  Major  Hoyt,  visited  the  camp, 
and  was  riddled  with  bullets.  Before  attacking  them,  how- 
ever, it  was  decided  to  break  up  the  nest  at  Franklin,  where 
the  enemy  had  a  cannon,  as  well  as  other  war  supplies. 

Accordingly,  on  the  night  of  the   i3th  of  August,  after  a 
20 


306  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

fight  in  the  dark  for  several  hours,  a  load  of  hay  was  set  on 
fire  and  started  for  the  fort  or  block-house.  This  brought  a 
cry  for  quarter  and  the  desertion  of  the  place  by  its  defend- 
ers. The  cannon  and  other  stores  were  captured.  As  no 
ammunition  was  found  for  the  cannon,  one  day  was  occu- 
pied by  Captain  Bickerton  in  making  moulds  and  casting 
balls  from  what  was  left  of  the  type  of  the  Herald  of  Free- 
dom office.  On  the  1 5th,  the  attack  was  made  upon  Fort 
Saunders,  on  Washington  Creek,  where  Hoyt  had  been  mur- 
dered. As  this  was  Lane's  first  appearance  as  commander 
in  a  battle,  some  particulars  of  it  are  given,  as  furnished  by 
his  friend  John  Speer,  in  the  Lawrence  Tribune,  July  20, 
1876: 

"  He  [Lane]  ordered  out  all  his  forces  of  cavalry.  Then  he  gathered 
in  all  the  farmers'  wagons  ;  and  placing  boards  across  them  like  scats, 
made  holes  in  these  boards,  into  which  he  stuck  pegs,  and  around  these 
pegs  he  tied  bundles  of  straw  so  as  to  make  them  at  a  distance  look  like 
men.  Thus  prepared,  the  whole  force  of  live  and  straw  men  made  their 
appearance  upon  the  heights  in  sight  of  Fort  Saunders.  As  the  view  of 
them  was  an  oblique  one  from  the  Fort,  the  teams  were  spread  out  a 
good  distance  apart,  but  still  looked  as  if  they  were  close  together.  As 
they  emerged  from  the  woods,  they  seemed  to  keep  coming  as  if  there 
was  no  end  to  them.  The  ruse  had  its  effect,  and  before  a  gun  was 
fired  the  men  were  seen  fleeing  in  all  directions." 

After  this  battle,  Lane  left  the  army  with  a  body-guard  of 
half  a  dozen  men,  going  by  way  of  Topeka.  He  crossed 
the  Kansas  River  in  the  night,  for  Nebraska,  where  his 
friends  say  he  at  once  commenced  throwing  up  breastworks 
on  or  near  the  territorial  line.  These  details  of  the  work 
of  Brown  and  Lane  are  only  important  because  Higginson, 
the  historian,  and  Sanborn,  the  biographical  writer,  say  that 
it  was  their  military  prowess  that  saved  Kansas  to  freedom, 
and  all  readers  will  be  interested  in  their  exploits.  After  the 
commander,  Lane,  had  started  for  Nebraska,  the  army  at 
first  disbanded.  However,  learning  that  Colonel  Titus  was 
active  in  his  expeditions  of  plunder,  and  that  his  wife  and 
family  had  just  left  for  Missouri,  the  men  were  rallied  again, 


CAPTURE    OF    FORT    TITUS.  307 

and  under  Colonel  Walker  started  for  Fort  Titus,  within  sight 
and  hearing  of  the  United  States  camp,  where  were  guarded 
the  treason  prisoners.  This  was  a  most  daring  enterprise, 
and  most  skillfully  managed.  Lane's  "straw"  men  were 
left  behind,  and  solid  men  and  solid  shot  soon  told  the  story. 
The  men  did  not  escape  as  at  Fort  Saunders,  but  were  taken 
prisoners  to  Lawrence.  Captain  Shombre,  a  brave  Free- 
State  man  from  Indiana,  was  killed,  and  two  pro-slavery 
men.  As  soon  as  the  firing  commenced,  one  ball  whizzing 
past  the  United  States  camp,  boots  and  saddles  was  sounded, 
but  the  soldiers  leisurely  took  their  position  between  Titus's 
house  and  Lecompton,  apparently  well  pleased  to  witness 
the  little  battle  that  was  being  fought.  The  next  day  Gov- 
ernor Shannon,  Major  Sedgwick,  and  Dr.  Rodrigue  went 
to  Lawrence,  met  with  Colonel  Ja-mes  Blood  and  William 
Hutchinson,  committee,  and  made  a  treaty  and  exchanged 
prisoners.  Also  the  howitzer,  taken  by  Jones  from  Law- 
rence on  May  2ist,  was  returned.  Here  ended  another 
chapter  m  the  guerrilla  warfare  inaugurated  by  John  Brown 
on  the  24th  of  May.  Thus  far  the  Free-State  men,  in  this 
brief  campaign,  had  triumphed,  but  their  victory  was  to  be 
short-lived.  Governor  Shannon,  who  would  under  no  prov- 
ocation call  out  the  territorial  militia,  resigned  and  aban- 
doned the  Territory,  leaving  Secretary  Woodson  acting 
Governor.  This  was  glory  enough  for  the  Slave-State  men. 
Now  the  machinery  for  invasion,  devastation,  and  annihila- 
tion was  put  in  order.  Even  Jeff  Davis  was  ready  to  come 
to  the  rescue  of  his  friends. 

At  this  point  it  may  be  appropriate  to  give  a  specimen  of 
the  way  in  which  the  history  of  Kansas  has  been  written, 
which  will  serve  to  show  how  heroes  are  made — and  un- 
made. General  James  Blood,  who  came  to  Kansas  in  July, 
1854,  has  been  a  prominent  character  ever  since,  and  has 
,  filled  various  positions  of  responsibility.  His  attention  being 
called  to  some  historical  writing  by  Mr.  Sanborn  and  Owen 
Brown,  he  made  this  answer : 


308  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"WAS   JOHN    BROWN   A    FRAUD? 

' '  To  the  Editor  of  the  Transcript  : 

"  My  attention  has  been  called  to  a  letter  signed  F.  B.  Sanborn, 
dated  Concord,  July  12,  1884,  and  published  in  the  Boston  Evening 
Transcript  of  July,  1884. 

"  Some  of  the  statements  in  Mr.  Sanborn's  letter  in  regard  to  what 
transpired  here  in  Kansas  in  the  summer  of  1856  are  so  new  to  me  that 
they  are  really  quite  interesting.  To  illustrate,  I  quote  as  follows  : 

"  That  Brown's  brave  fighting  record  in  Kansas,  during  the  summer 
of  1856,  was  the  glory  of  the  friends  of  freedom  all  over  the  North,  and 
that  when  difficult  or  dangerous  work  in  Kansas  was  proposed,  Brown 
was  called  for  by  the  Kansas  people  to  take  part  in  it.  Thus,  on  the 
1 2th  of  August,  1856,  General  Lane,  who  had  returned  to  Kansas  from 
the  North  with  several  hundred  armed  Free-State  men,  but  was  passing 
under  the  name  of  '  Joe  Cook,'  sent  this  message  through  his  aid,  Mr. 
Stratton,  to  John  Brown: 

"  '  TOPEKA,  7  p.m.,  August  12,  1856. 

'  '  General  Joe  Cook  wants  you  to  come  to  Lawrence  this  night,  for 
we  expect  to  have  a  fight  on  Washington  Creek.  Come  to  Topeka  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  I  will  pilot  you  to  the  place. 

"  '  Yours  in  haste,  H.  STRATTON.' 

"This  fight  actually  took  place  August  I5th,  and  Brown  had  the 
credit  of  the  victory  with  the  Georgians  and  Missourians  who  we  re- 
beaten.  The  next  day  Captain  Samuel  Walker,  a  friend  of  Brown's, 
*  *  *  made  an  attack  on  '  Fort  Titus,'  a  pro-slavery  block-house,  not  far 
from  Lecompton,  and  was  also  successful;  so  that  on  the  i/th  of  Au- 
gust, Shannon,  the  pro-slavery  Governor  of  Kansas,  went  to  Lawrence 
and  made  a  '  treaty  of  peace'  very  favorable  to  the  Free-State  men. 
These  matters  and  some  others,  throwing  light  on  the  condition  of 
Kansas  then,  are  thus  related  in  a  letter  from  Owen  Brown  (a  son  of 
John),  who  was  then  recovering  from  illness  in  Iowa,  to  the  wife  of 
John  Brown,  among  the  Adirondack  Mountains. 

'"OWEN    BROWN'S    COMMENTARIES   ON    TIM:    KANSAS 

WAR. 

"  '  TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  August  27,  1856. 
"'DEAR  MOTHER:  The  last  news  we  had  from  Kansas,  father 
was  at  Lawrence,  and  had  charge  of  a  company  of  the  bravest  men  the 
Territory  could  afford.  Those  who  come  through  here  from  the  Terri- 
tory say  that  father  is  one  of  the  most  daring,  courageous  men  in  Kan- 
sas. You  have,  no  doubt,  heard  that  the  Free-State  men  have  taken 
two  forts  or  block-houses,  with  a  fine  lot  of  arms,  several  prisoners,  and 


SAMPLES    OF    HISTORY    WRITING.  309 

two  cannon.  Shannon  was  obliged  to  flee  for  his  life ;  afterwards  came 
to  Lane  to  negotiate  for  peace.  He  proposed  that  the  Free-State  men 
should  give  up  the  prisoners  and  arms  they  had  taken  ;  at  the  same  time 
they  (the  enemy)  should  still  hold  our  men  as  prisoners  and  keep  all 
the  arms  they  had  taken  from  the  Free-State  men.  But  Lane  would 
not  consent  to  that ;  he  required  Shannon  to  deliver  up  the  howitzer 
they  had  taken  at  Lawrence,  release  some  prisoners,  disarm  the  pro- 
slavery  men  in  the  Territory,  and  do  all  in  his  power  to  remove  the 
enemy  from  the  Territory.  With  fear  and  trembling  Shannon  con- 
sented to  all  of  Lane's  demands.  *  *  *  And  now  the  news  comes  from 
reliable  sources  that  Lane  is  about  to  enter  Leavenworth  with  two 
thousand  men ;  that  he  has  sent  word  to  the  citizens  of  Leavenworth 
requiring  them  to  deliver  up  a  few  prisoners  they  had  taken,  with  some 
wagons  and  other  property,  or  he  will  destroy  the  town  forthwith. 
Colonel  Smith,  of  Leavenworth,  commander  of  the  Government  troops, 
refuses  to  protect  the  pro-slavery  men  of  the  Territory,  replying  that 
Lane  is  able  to  dress  them  all  out,  troops  and  all.  Shannon  made  a 
speech  to  them,  urging  them  to  cease  hostilities,  that  he  could  not  defend 
them  (i.e.,  our  enemies).  At  present  our  enemies  and  the  Missourians 
are  trembling  in  their  boots,  if  reports  are  true.  *  *  *  For  the  want 
of  time  I  leave  out  many  particulars  in  connection  with  the  taking  of 
those  forts  which  would  be  quite  interesting,  and  show  Yankee  skill  and 
strategy  at  least.' 

"  This  letter  of  Owen  Brown  to  his  mother  in  the  Adirondack 
Mountains  is  truly  romantic.  Then  follows  a  letter  from  John  Brown 
to  his  wife,  dated  '  Lawrence,  K.  T.,  yth  September,  1856,'  giving  a 
fictitious  account  of  what  took  place  at  Osawatomie  on  the  3Oth  of 
August.  Following  these  letters  the  truth-seeking  Sanborn  indulges  in 
a  little  flowery  rhetoric  and  gushing  sentiment.  I  will  make  no  more 
quotations  from  Mr.  Sanborn's  article  at  this  time.  But  believing  it  to 
be  a  duty,  I  have  reluctantly  concluded  to  call  attention  to  some  of  the 
errors  contained  in  the  above  quotations.  A  large  convention  of  the 
settlers  in  Kansas  was  held  at  Topeka  on  the  4th  of  July,  1856,  at 
which  a  large  territorial  committee  was  elected,  to  look  after  and  take 
charge  of  the  interests  of  the  settlers,  as  Governor  Robinson  was  a 
prisoner  under  guard  of  United  States  soldiers,  and  the  Legislature  was 
that  day  broken  up  and  dispersed  by  Federal  troops.  The  committee 
immediately  organized,  and  appointed  a  sub-committee  of  five,  who  were 
charged  with  the  duty  of  looking  after  and  taking  immediate  charge  of 
all  public  affairs  and  interests  of  the  people  of  the  Territory,  and  to 
provide  for  their  protection  from  armed  bands  of  guerrillas  and  ruffians. 
Mr.  William  Hutchinson  and  myself,  then  residing  in  Lawrence,  were 
appointed  members  of  the  sub-committee.  Lawrence  was  made  head- 
quarters, and  the  business  of  the  committee  was  transacted  here.  As 


310  THE     KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  and  myself  were  the  only  members  of  the  territorial 
committee  residing  here,  most  of  the  work  devolved  upon  us  ;  conse- 
quently it  became  our  duty  to  be  informed  in  regard  to  what  was  taking 
place.  I  make  the  above  statement  that  you  may  judge  of  my  oppor- 
tunities for  obtaining  or  possessing  correct  information  or  knowledge  of 
what  transpired  here  at  the  time,  as  well  as  of  the  principal  actors  and 
their  part  in  affairs.  In  regard  to  the  first  statement  quoted  from  Mr. 
Sanborn's  article,  I  wish  to  say  that  Mr.  Sanborn  is  mistaken.  John 
Brown  had  no  such  record  here.  The  second  statement  is  utterly  with- 
out foundation  in  truth.  John  Brown  was  never  called  upon  by  the 
Kansas  people  to  take  part  in  any  difficult  or  dangerous  work.  Perhaps 
the  best  way  to  correct  or  refute  .the  statements  contained  in  the  quota- 
tions from  Mr.  Sanborn's  article  would  be  to  make  a  correct  statement 
of  what  did  take  place  here  at  the  time.  In  August,  1856,  we  found 
that  armed  bands  of  ruffians  were  stationed  at  Franklin,  a  few  miles 
east  of  Lawrence,  on  the  road  to  Kansas  City,  and  that  they  engaged 
in  robbing  travellers  and  freighters,  and  pillaging  settlers  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Another  band  was  at  what  was  called  Fort  Saunders,  on 
Washington  Creek,  near  the  old  Santa  Fe  road,  and  about  fifteen  miles 
southwest  of  here.  At  this  place  a  number  of  robberies  and  murders 
had  been  committed.  Major  Hoyt  had  been  murdered  here.  Another 
band  was  about  twelve  miles  northwest  of  here,  and  near  Lecompton, 
called  Fort  Titus.  As  the  United  States  authorities  were  doing  nothing 
for  our  protection,  we  determined  to  protect  ourselves.  We  had  been 
for  some  time  preparing  to  attack  them,  and  try  to  drive  them  out  of  the 
country  or  stop  their  depredations,  and  had  decided  to  attack  the  camp 
at  Franklin  on  Wednesday,  the  1 3th  of  August.  The  attack  was  not 
made  till  evening,  when  considerable  of  a  fight  took  place.  On  the 
morning  of  that  day  I  was  informed  by  Mr.  Hutchinson  that  Lane  had 
just  come  in  from  Iowa,  and  was  in  concealment  over  his  store,  and  had 
assumed  the  name  of  Captain  Joe  Cook.  At  his  request  I  went  up  and 
saw  Lane.  I  said  to  him  that,  in  my  opinion,  there  was  no  necessity 
for  his  hiding,  that  he  was  in  no  more  danger  than  the  rest  of  us.  In 
the  evening,  when  the  '  Stubbs  '  Company  and  others  had  started  for 
•  Franklin,  Lane  came  down  from  his  hiding-place  and  mounted  a  horse, 
and  in  company  with  several  gentlemen  rode  down  to  a  point  between 
Lawrence  and  Franklin,  where  they  remained  upon  their  horses,  taking 
no  part  until  the  fight  was  over.  After  killing  one  of  our  men  and 
seriously  wounding  several  others,  the  band  of  ruffians  in  the  block- 
house surrendered.  They  were  disarmed  and  ordered  or  allowed  to 
leave  the  country  on  their  promise  never  to  return.  Among  other  arms 
captured  was  a  brass  cannon.  Immediately  after  the  aflair  at  Franklin 
was  over,  our  men  started  for  Fort  Saunders,  and  went  into  cam])  on 
Rock  Creek,  a  short  distance  east  of  Bloomington.  The  cannon  taken 


GENERAL    BLOOD'S    STATEMENT.  311 

at  Franklin  was  brought  to  Lawrence,  as  there  was  no  ammunition  for 
it.  The  next  morning  (the  I4th)  I  went  with  Captain  Bickerton  and  a 
few  others  to  the  Herald  of  Freedom  office,  and  took  a  quantity  of  type 
to  a  blacksmith  shop,  where  Captain  Bickerton  spent  the  day  in  casting 
balls  from  the  type,  while  another  force  was  occupied  in  making  car- 
tridges. By  night  we  had  quite  a  supply  of  ammunition  prepared  for 
the  cannon,  which  we  loaded  into  a  wagon  with  the  gun,  and  loading 
one  or  two  more  wagons  with  provisions  and  ammunition  for  the  men 
in  camp  on  Rock  Creek,  we  started  with  a  small  guard  that  we  were 
able  to  collect,  arriving  at  the  camp  some  time  in  the  night,  when  a 
consultation  was  held  with  the  officers,  at  which  General  Lane  was 
present,  and  it  was  decided  to  march  upon  Fort  Saunders  the  next 
morning.  John  Brown  was  not  present — at  least  I  did  not  see  or  hear 
of  him.  The  next  day  (the  I5thj  our  men  went  over  to  Fort  Saunders, 
but  upon  their  arrival  there  they  found  the  place  deserted,  not  a  man, 
woman,  or  child  to  be  found.  Dinner  had  been  cooked,  but  was  left 
upon  the  table  untouched.  Yet  Sanborn  states  positively  '  that  a  fight 
actually  took  place  at  Fort  Saunders,  August  I5th,  and  that  Brown  had 
the  credit  of  the  victory  with  the  Georgians  and  Missourians,  who  were 
beaten.'  However,  it  is  certain  that  there  was  no  fight  that  day,  and 
that  John  Brown  was  not  there.  Our  men  returned  that  night  to  the 
camp  on  Rock  Creek.  Lane,  with  H.  Stratton  and  a  few  others  as 
aids  or  body-guard,  left  for  Nebraska,  crossing  the  ferry  at  Topeka 
about  midnight.  The  next  heard  of  them  here  was  about  a  week  after- 
wards, when  they  were  found  to  be  engaged  in  the  ludicrous  employ- 
ment of  throwing  up  breastworks  near  the  Nebraska  line.  Saturday 
morning  (the  1 6th)  the  attack  was  made  upon  Fort  Titus  under  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Walker.  Captain  Bickerton  placed  the  cannon  taken  at 
Franklin  in  range  of  the  block-house  and  opened  fire,  sending  the  balls 
made  from  the  Herald  of  Freedom  type  into  it.  At  this  fight  Captain 
Shombre,  who  had  recently  arrived  from  Indiana  and  was  in  command 
of  a  company,  was  killed.  After  Titus  had  been  seriously  wounded, 
as  well  as  some  of  his  men,  he  surrendered.  The  buildings  were  burned, 
and  the  prisoners  were  brought  here  and  placed  under  a  strong  guard. 
Sunday  morning,  the  iyth,  Governor  Shannon,  accompanied  by  Major 
Sedgwick,  came  down  from  Lecompton  and  sent  for  the  committee.  As 
Mr.  Hutchinson  and  myself  were  the  only  members  of  the  committee 
here,  we  went  to  the  Cincinnati  House,  where  they  were  stopping. 
The  Governor  commenced  negotiations  for  the  release  of  Titus  and  his 
men.  The  most  of  the  day  was  spent  in  discussing  various  propositions 
for  a  settlement.  The  terms  finally  agreed  upon  were  about  as  follows, 
to  wit :  That  we  should  keep  the  arms  taken  at  Titus  and  at  Franklin,  in- 
cluding the  cannon  ;  that  the  howitzer  taken  from  here  at  the  sacking  of 
Lawrence  by  the  United  States  Marshal's  posse  in  May  should  be  de- 


312  Till;    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

livered  to  us  here  in  good  condition ;  that  some  five  to  eight  prisoners 
arrested  a  day  or  two  before  by  the  United  States  Marshal,  charged 
with  l>eing  concerned  in  the  attack  upon  Franklin,  with  robbing  the 
post-office  at  Franklin,  and  other  crimes  against  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, should  be  unconditionally  released  and  delivered  to  us  here 
unharmed,  and  that  he  should  issue  a  proclamation  disbanding  the  so- 
called  territorial  militia,  and  order  all  bands  of  armed  men  to  disperse, 
and  for  all  such  bands  of  non-residents  to  leave  the  Territory,  and  do  all 
in  his  power  as  Governor  to  protect  the  settlers  and  restore  peace. 
That  then  we  would  release  Titus  and  his  men.  After  we  had  agreed 
upon  the  terms  of  settlement  with  Governor  Shannon  and  Major  Sedg- 
wick,  we  sent  for  Colonel  Walker  and  stated  to  him  the  terms  of  the 
agreement,  and  as  we  were  obliged  to  keep  a  strong  guard  over  the 
prisoners  to  prevent  their  being  mobbed  by  some  of  our  own  men,  we 
were  glad  to  get  rid  of  them.  Colonel  Walker  approved  of  what  we 
had  done,  and  only  asked  to  go  up  with  his  company  and  get  the  how- 
itzer and  bring  it  into  town.  Monday  morning  (the  l8th)  the  howitzer 
was  brought  down  here,  and  the  prisoners  were  brought  in  a  Govern- 
ment ambulance.  The  ambulances  were  then  driven  to  the  guard-house, 
and  Titus  and  his  gang  were  put  into  them  and  escorted  out  of  town. 
The  terms  of  the  agreement  were  carried  out  by  Governor  Shannon,  as 
far  as  it  was  in  his  power  to  do.  But  he  was  very  soon  compelled  to 
leave  the  Territory,  and  was  at  once  removed,  and  Geary  appointed  in 
his  place. 

"  In  the  foregoing  I  have  endeavored  to  truthfully  narrate  what  oc- 
curred here  during  those  few  eventful  days  in  August,  1856.  Important 
occurrences  may  not  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  or  may  have  escaped 
my  memory.  I  am  sure  that  I  have  not  been  actuated  by  malice  or  ill- 
will  towards  any  one,  living  or  dead.  I  have  submitted  this  to  Colonel 
Walker,  who  says  that,  as  far  as  he  knows,  or  can  recollect,  it  is  correct. 
He  says  he  does  not  remember  seeing  John  Brown  during  that  time 
until  Sunday,  the  ijth,  when  he  saw  him  here  denouncing  the  leaders 
of  the  Free-State  party  and  their  policy,  and  denouncing  the  committee 
for  making  terms  with  Governor  Shannon,  and  trying  to  incite  a  mob 
to  overpower  the  guards  and  kill  the  prisoners.  Brown  was  not  in 
charge  of  any  company  here. 

"  But,  according  to  Mr.  Sanborn's  story,  John  Brown  was  here  mak- 
ing a  record  that  was  the  glory  of  the  friends  of  freedom  all  over  the 
North,  to  the  end  that  General  Lane  was  able  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace 
very  favorable  to  the  Free-State  men,  while  in  fact  Lane  was  not  in  the 
Territory  at  the  time,  having  left  two  days  previous  for  Nebraska,  as 
before  stated. 

"In  regard  to  the  letter  of  Owen  Brown  to  the  wife  of  John  Brown, 
among  the  Adirondack  Mountains,  regard  for  the  truth  requires  me  to 


SLAVE-STATE    MEN    AROUSED.  313 

say  it  is  pure  fiction  from  beginning  to  end,  entirely  destitute  of  any 
shadow  of  truth.  I  deny  each  and  every  allegation  contained  therein. 
Mr  Owen  Brown  drew  upon  his  imagination,  or  was  badly  informed. 
John  Brown  never  had  the  confidence  of  the  Free-State  party  here  in 
Kansas,  and  never  was  intrusted  with  any  command.  They  feared  that 
his  want  of  discretion  would  involve  the  Free-State  people  in  trouble, 
embarrassment,  and  disgrace,  and  endanger  the  cause.  I  have  written 
the  above,  believing  the  time  has  come  when  it  is  best  to  '  tell  the  truth.' 

"  Respectfully,  J.  BLOOD. 

"  LAWRENCE,  KANSAS,  December  18,  1884." 

''  I  have  examined  the  accompanying  statement  made  by  J.  Blood,  in 
regard  to  what  occurred  here  in  August,  1856,  from  the  I3th  to  the 
i8th,  and  believe  it  to  be  correct  as  far  as  I  know  or  can  now  remem- 
ber. "  SAMUEL  WALKER. 

"  LAWRENCE,  KANSAS,  December  19,  1884." 

After  the  capture  of  Titus  all  pro-slavery  parties  took 
fright.  Governor  Shannon,  on  the  i  yth  of  August,  sent  this 
dispatch  to  General  Smith  : 

"  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  LECOMPTON,  K.  T., 

"  August  17,  1856. 

"  SIR  :  This  place  is  m  a  most  dangerous  and  critical  situation  at  this 
moment.  \Ye  are  threatened  with  utter  extermination  by  a  large  body 
of  Free-State  men. 

''  The  report  of  Major  Sedgwick,  which  will  accompany  this,  will 
give  you  the  particulars  of  the  various  outrages  which  this  body  of  armed 
men  have  perpetrated  within  the  last  few  days.  I  have  just  returned 
from  Lawrence,  where  I  have  been  this  day,  with  the  view  of  procuring 
the  release  of  nineteen  prisoners  that  were  taken.  I  saw  in  that  place 
at  least  eight  hundred  men,  who  manifested  a  fixed  purpose  to  demolish 
this  town.  I  know  that  they  intend  an  attack,  and  that,  too,  in  a  very 
short  time.  I  have  correct  information  that  they  have  five  hundred 
men  over  in  the  Osawatomie  country,  some  forty  miles  south ;  about 
three  hundred  in  the  valley  of  the  Wakarusa,  and  a  large  body  above 
this  place,  variously  estimated  at  from  three  to  six  hundred.  There  can 
concentrate  at  this  place,  in  a  very  short  time,  some  fifteen  hundred  or 
two  thousand  men,  well  armed,  wkh  several  pieces  of  artillery.  It 
would  seem  that  the  business  of  '  wiping  out,'  as  it  is  called,  of  the  pro- 
slavery  party  has  been  commenced.  This  heavy  force  has  most  unex- 
pectedly sprung  into  existence,  and  made  its  appearance  within  a  few 
days  past.  The  women  and  children  have  been  mostly  sent  across  the 
river,  and  there  is  a  general  panic  among  the  people.  The  force  here 


314  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

is  small — say  eighty  or  a  hundred  dragoons,  and  some  hundred  and 
twenty  citizens  poorly  armed,  and  badly  supplied  with  ammunition. 
Under  these  circumstances,  I  have  to  request  you  to  send  from  the  fort 
all  disposable  force.  A  few  companies  of  infantry  would  be  very  desir- 
able, and  some  light  artillery.  Permit  me  to  express  the  hope  that 
whatever  force  you  can  dispatch  to  the  relief  of  this  place  will  be  sent 
as  soon  as  possible.  Delay  may  be  ruinous. 

"  Yours,  with  great  respect,  WILSON  SHANNON. 

"General  P.  F.  Smith.'" 

The  next  day,  the  i8th,  General  Richardson,  in  command 
of  the  northern  division  of  the  territorial  militia,  wrote 
General  Smith  as  follows  : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  DIVISION  KANSAS  MILITIA, 

"  DONIPHAN  COUNTY,  KANSAS,  August  i8th. 

"  SIR:  In  addition  to  the  extra  herewith  inclosed,  I  have  received 
reliable  information  that  a  state  of  actual  war  exists  in  Douglas  County, 
and  that  in  other  parts  of  the  Territory  within  this  division,  robberies 
and  other  flagrant  violations  of  law  are  daily  occurring  by  armed  bodies 
of  men  from  the  Northern  States.  In  the  absence  of  all  information 
from  the  Governor  of  the  Territory,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  exercis- 
ing the  authority  in  me  vested  in  cases  of  invasion,  by  ordering  out  the 
entire  strength  of  my  division,  to  rendezvous  at  various  points  of  the 
division  to  receive  further  orders. 

"  The  object  of  this  is  to  ask  of  you,  as  commandant  of  this  district, 
how  far  your  orders  require  interference  with  the  militia  of  the  Terri- 
tory, and  whether  or  not  their  being  thus  assembled  to  repel  such  in- 
vasions is  in  violation  of  your  instructions. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  P.  RICHARDSON, 
"  Major-General  First  Division  Kansas  Militia. 

"Brigadier-General    Persifer    F.  Smith,    Commanding,     I.cavt-invorth, 
A'.  T." 

On  the  25th  of  August,  Acting  Governor  Woodson  issued 
this  proclamation  : 

"  Whereas,  satisfactory  evidence  exists  that  the  Territory  of  Kansas 
is  infested  with  large  bodies  of  armed  men,  many  of  whom  have  just 
arrived  from  the  States,  combined  and  confederated  together,  and  amply 
supplied  with  all  the  munitions  of  war,  under  the  direction  of  a  common 
head,  with  a  thorough  military  organi/ntion  ;  who  have  been  and  are 
still  engaged  in  murdering  the  law-abiding  citizens  of  the  Territory, 


PROCLAMATION    OF    GOVERNOR    WOODSON.  315 

driving  others  from  their  homes  and  compelling  them  to  flee  to  the 
States  for  protection,  capturing  and  holding  others  as  prisoners  of  war, 
plundering  them  of  their  property,  and  in  some  instances  burning  down 
their  houses,  and  robbing  United  States  post-offices  and  the  local  militia 
of  the  arms  furnished  them  by  the  Government,  in  open  defiance  and 
contempt  of  the  laws  of  the  Territory  and  of  the  Constitution  and  laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  civil  and  military  authority  thereof ;  all 
for  the  purpose  of  subverting  by  force  and  violence  the  government 
established  by  law  of  Congress  in  the  Territory : 

41  Now,  therefore,  I,  Daniel  Woodson,  Acting  Governor  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  Kansas,  do  hereby  issue  my  proclamation,  declaring  the  said 
Territory  to  be  in  a  state  of  open  insurrection  and  rebellion  ;  and  I  do 
hereby  call  upon  all  law-abiding  citizens  of  the  Territory  to  rally  to  the 
support  of  their  country  and  its  laws,  and  require  and  command  all  offi- 
cers, civil  and  military,  and  all  other  citizens  of  the  Territory,  to  aid  and 
assist  by  all  means  in  their  power  in  putting  down  the  insurrectionists, 
and  bringing  to  condign  punishment  all  persons  engaged  with  them,  to 
the  end  of  assuring  immunity  from  violence  and  full  protection  to  the 
persons,  property,  and  civil  rights  to  all  peaceable  and  law-abiding  in- 
habitants of  the  Territory. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused  to 
he  attached  the  seal  of  the  Territory  of  Kansas.  Done  at  the  city  of 
Lecompton,  this  25th  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-six,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States, 
the  eightieth. 

[L.S.]  "  DANIEL  WOODSON, 

"  Acting  Governor  Kansas  Territory." 

On  the  1 8th  of  August  the  Argus,  of  Platte  City,  Missouri, 
issued  an  extra  with  these  head-lines : 

"  IMPORTANT  FROM  KANSAS. — CIVIL  WAR  AND  REBEL- 
LION.— WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  FLYING  FROM  THEIR 
HOMES  FOR  THEIR  LIVES  !  " 

After  a  greatly  exaggerated  description  of  disturbances  in 
Kansas,  it  closes  as  follows : 

"  Above,  fellow-citizens,  we  have  given  you  the  facts,  as  far  as  we 
have  learned  them,  of  this  recent  unprovoked,  inhuman,  and  unparal- 
leled attack  upon  the  peaceable  citizens  of  Kansas  Territory  by  a  band 
of  as  arrant  traitors  as  ever  cursed  the  soil  of  any  country ;  an  attack 
premeditated  and  planned  in  the  North  to  destroy  your  rights,  or  to 
dissolve  the  Union.  Even  now,  while  we  write,  our  beloved  Union, 


316  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

purchased  by  the  blood  of  our  ancestors,  may  be  no  more.  Missouri- 
ans !  the  war  rages  upon  your  borders — at  your  very  thresholds !  Your 
brethren  and  friends  in  Kansas  are  this  day  being  butchered  and  driven 
from  their  homes,  and  they  now  call  upon  you  for  succor  and  protection. 
The  Constitution  of  your  country,  and  the  laws  under  which  you  have 
so  long  lived,  as  well  as  your  own  rights,  menaced  by  as  reckless  and 
abandoned  a  foe  as  ever  erected  its  bloody  crest  to  disturb  the  repose  of 
society,  demand  that  you  should  rise  up  as  one  man  and  put  an  instant 
and  effectual  quietus  to  the  hired  tools  of  abolition,  disunion,  and  ag- 
gression, now  roaming  rampant  over  the  plains  of  Kansas  with  firebrand 
and  sabre. 

"  Citizens  of  Platte  County!  the  war  is  upon  you,  at  your  very 
doors.  Arouse  yourselves  to  speedy  vengeance,  and  rub  out  the  bloody 
traitors.  Recollect  that,  although  this  unholy  and  unnatural  war  is  car- 
ried on  in  Kansas,  it  is  against  you  and  your  institutions.  By  a  prompt 
and  vigorous  action  you  may  put  it  down  and  save  the  Union ;  but  if 
you  lay  supinely  on  your  backs  and  allow  the  black  treason  to  get  a  firm 
hold  in  Kansas,  you  will  find,  when  it  is  too  late,  that  you  have  allowed 
the  golden  moments  to  pass,  and  a  long  and  bloody  war,  involving  all 
the  States  of  the  Union,  will  be  inaugurated ;  and  then  you  will  have 
to  fight,  not  for  your  rights,  but  for  your  very  existence ;  not  for  the 
Union  and  Constitution — for  they  will  have  been  destroyed  in  the  onset 
— but  for  some  sort  of  an  existence  among  the  nations,  either  as  slaves 
or  abject  dependents  of  some  power,  perhaps,  of  Europe.  While  you 
are  inert,  the  powers  of  the  Union,  North  and  South,  will  be  slowly 
mustering  for  the  mighty  conflict  that  is  to  follow ;  and  all  Europe  will 
look  on  with  satisfaction  at  the  termination  of  this  Republic  and  the  end 
of  Liberty.  Rouse  up,  then,  and  strangle  the  demon  of  disunion  and 
destruction.  Patriotism  and  the  love  of  country,  law,  and  liberty,  de- 
mand it  at  your  hands. 

"  Still  later. — A  dispatch,  extra,  just  received  this  morning  from  In- 
dependence, signed  A.  G.  Boone  and  others,  corroborates  the  above 
statements. 

"  Lecompton  is  burned  down." 

General  Smith  responded  to  Governor  Shannon's  request, 
and  prepared  to  send  all  his  available  force  into  the  field, 
but  he  wanted  to  be  rid  of  his  treason  prisoners  as  badly  as 
Lane  and  Brown  wanted  to  relieve  him  of  their  custody. 
He  wrote  Shannon,  on  the  i8th  of  August :  "  It  will  be 
necessary  that  you  should  make  some  arrangement  for  the 
custody  of  the  prisoners  that  will  take  them  out  of  the  hands 


JEFFERSON    DAVIS    CALLS    FOR    MILITIA.  317 

of  the  troops.  A  small  guard  cannot  be  left  with  them 
safely ;  a  large  one  cannot  be  spared,  and  they  cannot  be 
marched  with  the  troops,  whose  movements  they  will  retard 
and  embarrass." 

To  this  Acting  Governor  Woodson  replied,  August  26th, 
as  follows: 

"  LECOMPTON,  KANSAS  TERRITORY, 

"  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  August  26th. 

"  SIR  :  In  reply  to  your  letter  to  Governor  Shannon,  requesting  him 
to  make  some  provision  for  keeping  the  prisoners  now  in  charge  of  the 
army  near  this  place,  I  have  to  say  that  those  prisoners  are  in  the  cus- 
tody of  the  United  States  Marshal  for  the  Territory,  Colonel  I.  B. 
Donelson,  and  that  the  Executive  has  no  power  to  interfere  with  his 
duties. 

"  Colonel  Donelson  is,  I  understand,  at  Leaven  worth  City  at  this 
time. 

"  Very  respectfully  yours, 

"  DANIEL  WOODSON, 
"Acting  Governor  Kansas  Territory. 
"Brigadier-General  Smith,  Commanding  Army  of  the  West." 

Jefferson  Davis,  September  3d,  made  requisition  upon  the 
Governors  of  Kentucky  and  Illinois  for  two  regiments  of  in- 
fantry from  each  State  to  put  down  rebellion  in  Kansas,  and 
also  authorized  General  Smith  to  use  the  territorial  militia. 

General  Smith,  instead  of  driving  out  armed  bodies  of 
men  from  Missouri,  as  did  Colonel  Sumner  under  Shannon's 
proclamation,  instructed  that  "  it  will  not  be  within  the  prov- 
ince of  the  troops  to  interfere  with  persons  who  may  have 
come  from  a  distance  to  give  protection  to  their  friends  or 
others,  and  who  may  be  behaving  themselves  in  a  peaceable 
and  lawful  manner." 

He  also  gave  directions  that  no  action  by  the  troops  must 
be  allowed  against  the  territorial  militia ;  and  all  armed  pro- 
slavery  men  from  Kansas  or  Missouri  could  be  classed  under 
that  head. 

Thus  the  decks  were  cleared  for  another  and  final  engage- 
ment in  this  war.  Guerrilla  parties  of  pro-slavery  men  in- 


31 8  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

fested  the  whole  Territory  as  by  magic.  Intercourse  with 
Leavenworth  and  Kansas  City  was  cut  off,  and  the  be- 
leaguered town  of  Lawrence  was  nearly  destitute  of  provi- 
sions as  well  as  ammunition.  Men  unarmed  and  defenseless 
were  shot  down  like  dogs,  and  in  one  instance,  at  least, 
scalped.  All  appeals  to  Woodson  for  protection  were  in 
vain,  and  the  end  seemed  fast  approaching.  The  grand  rally 
was  to  be  from  the  eastern  border.  All  the  great  generals, 
from  Atchison,  Reid,  and  others  from  Missouri,  down  to 
the  smaller  fry  of  the  Territory,  were  on  hand.  The  first 
demonstration  was  to  be  upon  the  reputed  home  of  John 
Brown.  Professor  Spring  truthfully  says,  in  his  "  Kansas," 
page  190:  "To  Dutch  Henry's  Crossing  must  be  charged 
much  of  the  havoc  and  anarchy  in  which  the  Kansas  of 
1856  weltered.  That  affair  was  a  festering,  rankling,  en- 
venomed memory  among  pro-slavery  men.  It  set  afoot 
retaliatory  violences,  which  for  a  while  were  successfully- 
matched,  and  more  than  matched,  by  their  opponents,  but 
finally  issued  in  a  total  military  collapse  of  the  Free-State 
cause." 

On  the  3oth  of  August,  General  Reid,  with  a  detachment 
from  the  main  army,  visited  the  hated  town  of  Osawatomie. 
On  approaching  it,  Rev.  Martin  White,  who  had  personal 
reasons  for  remembering  the  Brown  family,  who  attacked 
his  cabin  and  took  his  horses  in  April  of  that  year,  met 
Frederick  Brown,  and  exclaiming,  "  Why,  I  know  you,"  shot 
him  dead.  The  town  had  about  forty  Free-State  defenders, 
and  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  enemy.  A  few  shots  were  ex- 
changed by  the  parties,  W.  W.  Updegraff,  John  Brown,  and 
Captain  Cline,  in  command  of  the  citizens,  who  soon  fled 
across  the  creek  out  of  harm's  way.  Six  Free- State  men 
lost  their  lives,  either  at  the  fight  or  before  and  after  the 
encounter,  and  two  pro-slavery  men,  according  to  Reid's 
report.  The  town  was  laid  in  ashes,  excepting  only  four 
houses. 

These  bold  movements  of  Atchison,  which  were  counte- 


FREE-STATE    MEN    AROUSED.  319 

nanced  by  Woodson,  once  more  aroused  the  Free-State  men. 
Lane  had  now  returned  from  a  two  weeks'  absence  in  "  forti- 
fying the  Nebraska  line,"  and  with  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  men  marched  towards  the  invading  forces.  On  coming 
within  sight  of  the  enemy,  near  Bull  Creek,  he  ordered  a 
retreat  eight  miles,  where  he  camped  for  the  night,  return- 
ing the  next  morning  to  Lawrence  without  the  loss  of  a  man. 
In  the  meantime  the  Governor's  militia  had  not  been  idle 
about  Lecompton.  Seven  Free-State  men  had  been  burned 
out  of  house  and  home,  besides  other  outrages  daily  perpe- 
trated in  the  vicinity.  As  some  Free-State  prisoners  were 
held  at  Lecompton  by  the  militia,  the  men  at  Lawrence 
concluded  to  visit  the  territorial  capital  in  force.  Colonel 
P.  St.  George  Cooke,  September  5th,  thus  reports  the  affair : 

"  About  a  mile  from  town  I  joined  the  dismounted  command,  and, 
rising  the  hill  prairie  above  the  town,  came  upon  the  flank  of  about 
sixty  mounted  men  in  line,  who  remained  motionless.  Ordering  the 
dragoons  to  halt  nearly  in  open  column,  I  rode  in  front  of  the  Lawrence 
men,  and  accosted  Captain  Walker,  who  was  in  command,  asking  what 
he  came  after.  He  answered,  that  they  came  to  release  prisoners  and 
have  their  rights.  He  said  they  had  sent  into  town  to  treat  with  the 
Governor.  I  asked  him  if  that  was  all  their  men.  He  said,  Oh,  no, 
there  were  seven  hundred  more  close  by.  I  told  him  it  was  a  very  un- 
fortunate move  on  their  part,  that  the  prisoners  had  been  ordered  to  be 
released;  and,  among  othe'r  things,  .said  if  they  attacked  the  town,  I 
should  attack  them.  He  asked  me  if  I  would  go  with  him  to  the  main 
body.  I  consented,  and  sent  an  order  to  Colonel  Johnston,  then  arriv- 
ing on  the  hill,  to  remain  there  in  command  of  the  troops  until  I  re- 
turned ;  and  taking  Lieutenant  Riddick,  acting  Assistant  Quartermas- 
ter, an  orderly,  and  bugler,  rode  with  him  towards  the  woods,  near  the 
town.  * 

"  I  asked  Mr.  Walker  to  collect  the  officers  in  front  of  the  line,  and 
some  twenty  or  thirty  approached  me,  mounted.  At  the  moment  there 
was  an  altercation  with  Mr.  Cramer,  treasurer  of  the  Territory,  whom 
they  had  just  made  prisoner,  who  appealed  to  me,  stating  that  he  was  a 
United  States  officer,  and  that  he  had  been  sent  to  me.  I  addressed 
these  principal  men.  I  said :  '  You  have  made  a  most  unfortunate 
move  for  yourselves ;  the  Missourians,  you  know,  have  gone,  and  the 
militia  here  are  nearly  gone,  having  commenced  crossing  the  river  yes- 
terday morning,  to  my  knowledge.  As  to  the  prisoners,  whilst  I  will 


320  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

make  no  terms  with  you,  I  can  inform  you  that  they  were  promised  to 
be  released  yesterday  morning;  and  the  Governor  this  morning  told  me 
he  would  order  the  release  of  all  of  them,  and  was  to  send  me  word  at 
what  hour  I  should  send  a  guard  to  escort  them  to  camp ;  that,  there- 
fore, I  could  assure  their  prompt  return  to  their  homes  ;  that  every- 
thing was  going  in  their  favor,  and  that  it  apparently  would  be  so  if 
they  would  refrain  entirely  from  reprisals  or  any  outrages,  return  to 
their  occupations,  and  show  moderation.'  I  required  the  release  of  the 
prisoner,  Mr.  Cramer,  and  their  return  to  Lawrence. 

"  I  was  asked  if  I  could  promise  that  affairs  would  be  set  right  at 
Lea.venworth,  and  they  have  power  to  go  and  come?  Mentioning 
several  cases  of  murders  or  killing,  even  this  morning,  I  answered,  '  I 
could  only  answer  for  this  vicinity ;  that  things  could  not  be  settled  in 
a  moment;  that  General  Smith  was  close  to  Leavenworth,  and  that  his 
powers  and  views,  I  believed,  were  the  same  as  mine.'  1  was  then 
asked  the  ever-recurring  question,  if  I  should  attack  them  if  they  at- 
tempted there  to  redress  themselves  or  defend  themselves?  I  replied, 
'  I  give  no  pledge ;  that  my  mission  was  to  preserve  the  peace. ' 

"  Great  regret  was  expressed  by  them  that  they  had  not  been  in- 
formed before  of  these  events ;  they  said  they  had  waited  long ;  that 
their  messengers  were  killed  or  made  prisoners,  and  mentioned  that  a 
regiment  was  then  over  the  river,  and  apprehended  it  would  lead  to  bad 
results,  and  I  was  asked  to  send  to  them  to  go  back  to  Lawrence.  I 
suggested  that  a  written  order  should  be  sent,  and  one  was  afterwards 
handed  me ;  they  then  released  three  prisoners,  and  marched  off  to 
return,  whilst  I  rode  over  to  the  town  with  the  released  prisoners.  I 
found  one  or  two  hundred  militia,  whom  I  had  previously  seen  opposite, 
among  the  walls  of  the  new  capitol,  under  General  Marshall. 

"  I  found  the  Governor,  and  informed  him  of  my  action  and  its 
results.  He  said  the  prisoners  had  been  released,  but,  in  fact,  the 
order  had  not  yet  been  executed." 

Colonel  Cooke  said  the  Governor  and  others  pretended 
to  desire  the  arrest  of  Lane,  who  did  not  make  his  appear- 
ance in  the  consultation.  In  his  letter  dated  September  7th, 
Colonel  Cooke  says : 

"  I  sent  down  yesterday  Mr.  Hutchinson  and  friends.  He  promised 
me  that'  all  prisoners  should  be  released,  and  that  the  people  would 
return  to  their  occupations. 

"  In  town  nine  other  prisoners,  released  by  order  of  General  Rich- 
ardson, were  delivered  to  me.  Some  had  been  taken,  as  teamsters,  I 
believe,  near  Leavenworth,  ten  or  twelve  days  ago.  I  sent  them  with 
a  small  escort  to  Lawrence.  General  Richardson  went  with  them;  he 


CHANGE    OF    BASE.  321 

had  intended  to  go  without  escort.  The  sergeant  of  escort  reports  that, 
soon  after  his  arrival,  he  rode  out  on  the  Franklin  Road  with  General 
Lane  and  Captain  Walker,  perhaps  to  insure  his  safety. 

"  A  large  number  of  militia  went  off  undischarged  for  their  homes  ; 
others,  with  some  organization,  pretending  that  they  would  resupply 
themselves  and  return.  A  large  company  remains  in  town,  which  I 
object  to.  General  Marshall  says  they  are  a  company  from  the  Blue." 

From  this  second  letter  it  would  seem  that  a  deception 
was  being  practised  upon  the  army  officers  and  the  people. 
While  prisoners  about  Lecompton  were  discharged  and  mili- 
tia companies  were  leaving  ostensibly  for  their  homes,  these 
companies  were  not  mustered  out,  but  some  of  them  claimed 
they  would  resupply  themselves  and  return.  Evidently  they 
simply  went  towards  Missouri,  but  brought  up  in  Atchison's 
camp  on  the  border.  Also,  the  fact  that  General  Richard- 
son, on  his  way  to  join  Atchison,  could  ride  on  friendly 
terms  with  Lane,  when  only  the  day  before  they  claimed  to 
want  him  arrested,  is  at  least  significant,  and  Lane's  conduct 
soon  after  adds  to  its  significance. 

Mrs.  Robinson,  in  her  "  Kansas,"  page  337,  says: 

"  The  prisoners  came  over  to  the  camp  at  evening  (September  5th) 
and,  under  military  escort,  went  to  Lawrence  the  next  day.  General 
Richardson,  of  the  '  Kansas  militia,'  made  a  visit  in  Lawrence.  He 
was  received  kindly  by  General  Lane,  who  escorted  him  on  his  way  to 
Franklin.  He  stated  '  he  was  on  his  way  to  disperse  the  Missourians, 
who  were  coming  into  the  Territory.'  " 

If  he  so  stated,  he  made  a  false  statement,  as  he  did  noth- 
ing of  the  kind. 

While  war  manifestations  were  lessening  on  the  west  of 
Lawrence,  they  were  assuming  gigantic  proportions  east  of 
it.  All  the  border  counties  of  western  Missouri  were  aroused 
and  apparently  moving  Kansas-ward.  Steamboats  coming 
up  the  Missouri  River  were  loaded  with  armed  men  and 
munitions  of  war.  Even  the  boat  which  brought  the  new 
Governor,  Geary,  was  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

At  Lecompton  all  prisoners,  including  the  treason  pris- 

21 


322  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

oners,  were  turned  loose,  the  latter  on  the  loth  of  Septem- 
ber, just  four  months  from  the  arrest  of  Robinson  at  Lexing- 
ton. These  prisoners  were  met  by  a  long  procession  from 
Lawrence,  and,  as  other  prisoners  arrived  in  the  town  on 
the  same  day,  a  general  jubilee  was  held.  But  the  rejoicing 
came  to  a  sudden  close.  Lane,  while  he  met  the  prisoners 
on  arrival,  left  soon  after,  with  a  body-guard  of  about  thirty- 
men,  in  the  direction  of  Nebraska.  As  this  army  from  Mis- 
souri, said  to  be  the  most  formidable  ever  seen  in  Kansas, 
was  moving  towards  Lawrence,  and  Lane  was  moving  to- 
wards Nebraska,  an  investigation  of  the  situation  was  at 
once  made.  While  army  officers  had  estimated  the  force  at 
Lawrence,  at  different  times,  from  five  hundred  to  eight 
hundred  strong,  and  Captain  Walker  told  Colonel  Cooke  he 
had  seven  hundred  men  with  him  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  at  Lecompton,  and  Colonel  Harvey  had  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  on  the  north  side,  there  could  not  be  found  in 
Lawrence,  when  Lane  left,  over  three  hundred  men  with 
arms  of  any  kind,  and  of  this  number  Lane  sent  a  dispatch 
for  all  the  best  arms  and  the  cannon  to  go  to  him  at  Hickory 
Point,  in  Jefferson  County,  where  he  had  met  some  men  who 
had  organized  for  mutual  protection.  Official  and  other 
testimony  is  to  the  effect  that  these  men  were  of  both  par- 
ties, united  for  protection  against  the  thieves  and  marauders 
of  all  kinds.  Colonel  Harvey  took  one  hundred  men,  with 
Sharp's  rifles  and  the  cannon,  and  went  to  help  Lane  out  of 
the  Territory,  leaving  only  about  fifty  Sharp's  rifles  in  town, 
and  two  hundred  men  and  no  cannon. 

Mrs.  Robinson,  in  her  "  Kansas,"  page  330,  says,  under 
date  24th  of  August:  "It  was  estimated  that  in  twelve 
hours'  time  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  men  could 
be  rallied  to  defend  Lawrence."  This  force  was  placed 
under  the  command  of  Lane,  and  now,  when  an  army  of 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  men  was  marching  upon  the 
Free- State  settlements — had  already  destroyed  Osawatomie 
— the  towns  were  left  utterly  defenseless. 


ARRIVAL    OF    GEARY.  323 

The  future  historian  will  have  several  questions  to  solve 
relative  to  the  motive  and  purpose  of  Lane  in  this  wonderful 
generalship.  Among  the  queries  to  be  answered  will  be 
these :  Was  he  moved  by  fear,  as  when  he  left  Kansas  be- 
tween the  great  battle  with  "  live  and  straw  "  men  at  Fort 
Saunders,  and  the  battle  at  Fort  Titus.'  Did  he  think,  as 
the  treason  prisoners  would  be  the  first  to  "  go  up  "  should 
the  pro-slavery  army  enter  Lawrence,  he  might  thus  get  rid 
of  a  claim  dispute  without  having  to  kill  his  contestant — 
Gaius  Jenkins,  a  late  treason  prisoner — with  his  own  hand? 
or  did  he  think  it  a  good  time  to  give  a  final  coup  de  grace  to 
the  Free-State  cause  ? 

Governor  Geary  arrived  at  Fort  Leavenworth  September 
9th,  and  at  Lawrence  on  the  i2th.  As  he  had  known  Rob- 
inson by  reputation  in  California,  when  the  entire  militia  of 
that  embryo  State  was  called  out  to  put  down  fifteen  men, 
of  whom  he  was  one  ;  and  as  Robinson  had  known  Geary 
by  reputation  as  Mayor  of  San  Francisco  in  trying  times, 
they  met  and  became  at  once  frank  and  somewhat  confi- 
dential in  their  interview.  Governor  Geary  assured  Robin- 
son that  he  was  in  earnest  in  putting  an  end  to  the  troubles 
in  Kansas,  as  it  was  a  political  necessity  for  the  Democratic 
party.  The  whole  North  was  a  seething  caldron  of  excite- 
ment over  Kansas  affairs,  and  Buchanan's  election  was  in 
danger.  He  had  issued  a  proclamation  ordering  all  armed 
bodies  of  men  to  disperse,  which  he  brought  to  Lawrence. 

Robinson  questioned  the  propriety  of  enforcing  this  order 
while  the  Missourians,  under  pretense  of  militia,  were  march- 
ing upon  the  town.  Governor  Geary  said  they  would  be 
under  his  control,  and  he  would  guarantee  protection.  Upon 
being  told  by  Robinson  that  he  did  not  know  his  militia,  that 
they  might  or  might  not  obey  his  orders,  he  consented  that 
tho  people  of  Lawrence  might  retain  their  military  organiza- 
tions till  he  should  send  the  Missourians  home.  He  went 
again  to  Lecompton,  promising  to  return  in  time  to  meet  the 
Missourians  before  they  should  reach  Lawrence. 


324  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

On  the  1 4th  of  September,  the  enemy  arrived  at  Franklin. 
A  messenger  was  dispatched  with  the  information  to  Gov- 
ernor Geary.  In  the  afternoon  a  large  party  of  horsemen 
approached  the  town  from  the  direction  of  Franklin.  Im- 
mediately all  who  were  armed  with  Sharp's  rifles  started 
upon  the  double-quick  to  intercept  and  repulse  them.  About 
fifty  men  thus  went  out,  formed  a  skirmish  line,  and  drove 
them  back.  As  soon  as  this  body  of  horsemen  made  its 
appearance,  other  dispatches  were  sent  to  Geary  at  Lecomp- 
ton,  one  by  G.  W.  Brown,  who  had  been  introduced  to  him 
by  a  letter  of  a  mutual  friend,  and  one  by  Robinson.  Gov- 
ernor Geary  immediately  applied  to  Colonel  Cooke,  who 
started  the  troops  at  once  for  Lawrence,  they  arriving  in  the 
night,  their  artillery  on  Oread  Hill,  and  the  dragoons  in  the 
valley  between  Lawrence  and  Franklin.  When  this  force 
arrived  Robinson  became  insane,  and  procured  some  wine 
and  carried  to  the  officers  who  but  recently  had  him  in 
charge  as  a  treason  prisoner,  and  treated  them.  This  was 
the  first  and  last  time  in  his  life  he  was  guilty  of  such  an  in- 
discretion. Governor  Geary  and  Colonel  Cooke  arrived 
early  in  the  morning,  and  met  the  Missourians  as  they  were 
moving  towards  Lawrence.  He  immediately  held  a  con- 
sultation with  their  officers,  and  the  war,  inaugurated  May 
24th  on  the  Potawatomie  by  John  Brown,  ended  then  and 
there. 

As  it  is  claimed  by  Mr.  Sanborn,  Redpath.  and  others 
that  John  Brown  saved  Lawrence  at  this  time,  it  may  be 
important  to  refer  to  the  matter.  While  Robinson  was  pres- 
ent and  endeavored  to  watch  the  situation  from  first  to  last, 
his  testimony  will  not  be  given,  as  he  may  be  thought  to  be 
an  interested  witness  by  some.  Major  J.  B.  Abbott  was 
officer  of  the  day,  according  to  Colonel  Walker,  and  wore 
his  sash  as  such,  while  Joseph  Cracklin  was  ranking  officer, 
being  appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel  by  Lane  a  short  time  be- 
fore. Colonel  Cracklin  was  a  member  of  the  Boston  party 
that  went  to  California  in  1 849,  was  an  intimate  associate 


COLONEL  CRACKLIN'S  STATEMENT.  325 

with  Robinson,  had  been  a  sailor,  and  was  well  versed  in  all 
matters  of  peace  and  war.  He  was  a  most  valuable  factor 
from  first  to  last,  and  was  captain  of  the  famous  "  Stubbs  " 
until  promoted.  From  his  account  of  the  preparations  and 
proceedings  of  that  time,  as  published  in  the  Lawrence 
Tribune,  the  following  extracts  are  made : 

"Editor  Tribune : 

"  SIR  :  It  was  with  much  pleasure  I  read  the  very  interesting  article 
of  Governor  Robinson,  in  your  issue  of  the  1 6th  instant.  The  perver- 
sion of  history  referred  to  by  the  Governor,  and  the  desire  on  the  part 
of  the  friends  and  worshippers  of  John  Brown,  intentionally  or  other- 
wise, to  give  him  credit  where  it  was  not  due,  is  sincerely  to  be  regret- 
ted. As  the  Governor  truly  says :  'John  Brown  never  had  anything 
whatever  to  do  with  erecting  or  commanding  any  fortification  about 
Lawrence,  and  never  saved  the  town  from  attack,  or  did  any  more  to- 
wards it  than  the  most  obscure  person  in  the  town. '  The  Governor  is 
right.  I  was  here  and  took  an  active  part  in  all  the  troubles,  as  Cap- 
tain of  the  '  Stubbs,'  and  certainly  ought  to  know.  *  *  *  John 
Brown  had  nothing  to  do  with  either  building  or  commanding  any  fort 
or  breastwork  about  Lawrence,  or  with  the  defense  of  Lawrence  against 
any  attack  whatever.  A  day  or  two  before  the  arrival  of  the  ruffian  two 
thousand  seven  hundred,  I  met  General  Lane  on  the  street.  He  took 
me  by  the  arm  and  requested  me  to  accompany  him  to  his  office ;  arriv- 
ing there,  he  presented  me  with  a  lieutenant-colonel's  commission. 
At  first  I  was  disposed  to  reject  it,  not  wishing  to  sever  my  connection 
with  the  Stubbs ;  but  he  urged  me  so  strongly  to  accept  that  I  finally 
yielded,  and  sent  my  resignation  as  captain  to  Lieutenant  Cutler.  The 
company  immediately  called  a  meeting  and  proceeded  to  fill  the  vacancy 
by  electing  Cutler.  Soon  after,  Lyman  Allen  informed  me  that  Gov- 
ernor Robinson  wanted  to  see  me  at  his  office.  I  called  on  the  Gov- 
ernor, who  congratulated  me  on  my  promotion,  and  said  he  had  reliable 
information  that  a  large  force  were  on  their  way  to  attack  and  destroy 
Lawrence;  that  our  force  in  town  was  small,  and  would  still  be  more 
reduced  by  the  absence  of  Colonel  Harvey,  who  intended  to  start  that 
night  on  a  private  expedition.  But  the  Stubbs  were  not  to  leave  under 
any  consideration,  without  orders  from  headquarters.  He  also  said  he 
wanted  me  to  make  the  best  disposition  of  the  force  we  had,  for  the 
defense  of  the  town,  in  doing  which  I  was  to  use  my  best  judgment. 
Accordingly,  in  compliance  with  his  instructions,  I  had  a  strong  guard 
posted  around  the  town  that  night,  and  the  next  morning  proceeded  to 
station  our  men  to  the  best  advantage.  One  body  of  men  was  stationed 
in  the  circular  fort  at  the  junction  of  Massachusetts  and  Henry  streets, 


326  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

one  at  the  foundation  of  my  house  on  Rhode  Island  street,  under  the 
command  of  Jeff.  Comvay.  I  went  for  the  Stubhs,  but,  to  my  sorrow, 
I  found  they  had  disobeyed  orders,  and  left  town  with  Colonel  Harvey. 
I  had  notified  Captain  Cutler  personally  of  the  Governor's  orders  on 
the  evening  before.  I  regretted  their  absence  very  much.  I  then 
hunted  up  the  Wabaunsee  Rifles.  I  could  find  but  ten ;  these  I  posted 
under  Captain  Lynde  at  the  point  where  Roberts'  box  mill  now  stands, 
with  instructions  to  remain  there  until  the  enemy  came  within  gunshot, 
when  they  were  to  open  fire,  and  if  obliged  to  retreat,  to  fall  back  grad- 
ually and  orderly  under  cover  of  the  buildings,  keeping  up  a  running 
fire.  I  then  left  them  to  make  further  disposition.  As  I  was  return- 
ing, I  heard  some  one  cry  out,  '  There  they  come.'  I  stopped,  turned 
my  eyes  in  the  direction  of  Franklin,  and  I  saw  a  large  force  of  horse- 
men going  towards  Mr.  Haskell's.  I  immediately  started  on  a  run  for 
the  Wabaunsee  boys,  and  told  them  to  follow  me,  and  started  on  a  dog 
trot  towards  the  cabin  of  John  Speer,  and  halted  a  short  distance  from 
it  on  the  top  of  a  ridge.  At  the  time  I  halted,  the  enemy  had  passed 
into  the  timber  beyond  Haskell's.  Supposing  it  was  their  intention  to 
pass  into  the  bottom  and  approach  the  town  in  that  direction,  I  con- 
cluded to  wait  where  I  was  until  they  showed  themselves,  feeling  that, 
with  them  in  the  bottom,  I  would  have  the  advantage  of  position  and 
could  attack  them  with  a  plunging  fire.  I  was  disappointed,  however. 
In  a  few  minutes  they  made  their  appearance,  coming  out  of  the  timber 
and  heading  towards  us.  As  soon  as  they  got  in  range  I  ordered  the 
boys  to  open  fire.  We  had  not  fired  more  than  a  dozen  shots,  when, 
looking  towards  town,  I  saw  quite  a  number  of  men  on  the  run  to  our 
assistance.  In  the  meantime  the  enemy  had  disappeared  in  a  hollow  or 
ravine. 

"As  fast  as  my  friends  arrived  I  placed  them  in  line,  deployed  as 
skirmishers  at  six  paces  intervals,  until  my  force  amounted  to  fifty-eight. 
Not  seeing  anything  of  the  enemy,  I  sent  Ed.  Bond,  who  was  mounted, 
to  see  what  they  were  doing.  We  watched  him  until  he  arrived  at  the 
entrance  of  the  ravine,  where  the  enemy  were  concealed,  when  he 
stopped,  levelled  his  rifle,  and  fired ;  he  then  put  spurs  to  his  pony  and 
galloped  back.  He  reported  them  in  the  ravine  at  a  halt,  and  some  dis- 
mounted. I  then  ordered  a  forward  movement,  with  my  line  extended 
as  skirmishers.  We  had  a  space  of  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to 
cross  before  we  would  reach  the  ridge  that  separated  us  from  the  enemy. 
On  reaching  it,  we  discovered  them  just  going  out  of  the  upper  end  of 
the  ravine  in  the  direction  of  Hanscom's  farm.  I  ordered  the  boys  to 
open  fire,  to  load  and  fire  at  will ;  our  whole  line  immediately  com- 
menced blazing  away.  They  fired  several  shots  in  return,  but  they  fell 
short.  One  of  their  men  was  seen  to  fall  near  Hanscom's  fence.  They 
put  spurs  to  their  horses  and  galloped  away  towards  Franklin.  ' 


CREDIT    DUE.  327 

"  The  only  fighting  done  on  that  day  was  done  by  the  gallant  little 
force  I  had  the  honor  to  command,  and  John  Brown  had  nothing  to  do 
with  it,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  Redpath  and  other  worshippers  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

"  J.  CRACKLIN." 

Captain  Cutler,  who  succeeded  Cracklin  as  Captain  of  the 
Stubbs,  gives  as  his  reason  for  leaving  Lawrence  against 
Cracklin's  orders,  that  he  was  ordered  to  do  so  by  Colonel 
Harvey,  who  ranked  Cracklin.  Harvey  received  his  orders 
from  Lane,  and  hence  the  desertion  of  the  town  by  its  best 
men  and  arms  in  the  face  of  an  advancing  enemy. 

As  much  other  work  performed  by  the  Stubbs  and  other 
companies  under  command  of  Captains  Cracklin,  Walker, 
Abbott,  and  others  has  been  credited  to  John  Brown,  ex- 
tracts are  given  from  a  letter  of  Captain  Cracklin,  published 
in  the  Lawrence  Tribune  of  April  19,  1881  : 

' '  They  had  four  camps  at  different  points  in  the  Territory,  from 
which  they  sallied  for  murder  and  robbery,  viz.  :  Doniphan,  Franklin, 
Washington  Creek,  and  one  near  Osawatomie  had  become  such  an  un- 
endurable pest  in  the  neighborhood  they  infested  that  no  traveller  could 
pass  the  roads  in  safety.  Appeal  was  made  to  the  United  States  for 
protection,  but  in  vain,  when,  at  the  instance  of  the  Free-State  settlers 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  this  Georgia  camp,  an  expedition  was 
planned  at  Lawrence  and  given  in  my  charge.  I  selected  the  Stubbs, 
Coal  Creek,  and  Franklin  companies,  in  all  ninety-one  men,  and  left 
Lawrence  in  the  early  part  of  August,  1856,  and  on  the  second  day 
after,  arrived  at  Osawatomie,  where,  after  learning  the  position  of  the 
camp  and  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  I  made  preparation  for  an  imme- 
diate attack.  Dividing  my  force  in  two  divisions,  about  dark  in  the 
evening  we  ascended  the  hill,  upon  which  the  enemy  had  erected  a  large 
block-house,  which  served  a  double  purpose,  as  a  fort  and  residence. 
Advancing  in  open  order  on  two  points,  we  were  surprised  on  arriving 
to  find  the  fort  abandoned.  I  immediately  gave  orders  to  remove  every- 
thing of  value  and  set  fire  to  the  building.  I  would  here  state,  that  at 
that  time,  John  Brown  was  in  Iowa,  consequently  he  could  have  taken 
no  part  in  the  expedition.  Yet,  notwithstanding,  Redpath  gives  him  the 
credit  of  commanding  the  force  that  broke  up  this  Georgia  pest,  that 
had  so  long  harassed  the  settlers  in  that  neighborhood. 

"  This  little  affair  was  followed  up  by  a  series  of  attacks  on  all  their 
camps.  Next  was  Franklin,  where  I  led  the  attacking  party,  composed 


328  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

of  Stubbs,  and  a  portion  of  the  Coal  Creek  and  Franklin  companies, 
with  a  few  others,  and  after  a  sharp  little  fight  of  three  hours,  we  routed 
the  enemy,  took  their  camp,  and  captured  one  cannon  and  a  large 
quantity  of  small  arms.  (The  cannon  is  now  in  our  city,  and  known 
as  '  Old  Sacramento.')  In  this  engagement  I  had  one  man  killed,  and 
four  wounded — Arthur  Gunther,  wounded  severely  in  the  breast  and 
chin ;  George  Henry,  slightly  wounded  in  the  breast ;  John  Crocker, 
slightly  wounded  in  the  head;  George  \V.  Smith,  Jr.,  slightly  wounded 
in  the  head  and  leg.  George  Sackett,  a  very  estimable  young  man,  was 
killed,  shot  through  the  head. 

"This  was  followed  by  the  attacks  on  Washington  Creek,  Titus 
Fort,  and  Hickory  Point,  in  all  of  which  the  Stubbs  took  an  active 
part,  until  they  were  unfortunately  captured,  without  resistance,  by  the 
United  States  troops,  disarmed,  and  kept  several  months  in  a  loath- 
some prison  at  Lecompton. 

"JOSEPH  CRACKLIN." 

This  capture  of  the  Stubbs  was  occasioned  by  their 
answering  the  call  of  Lane  when  he  fled  to  Nebraska  as  the 
2800  Missourians  were  marching  upon  Lawrence. 

When  Colonel  Harvey  with  his  men  reached  Hickory 
Point,  Lane  had  passed  on  with  his  body-guard  in  safety  to 
his  destination,  the  States.  Harvey  opened  fire  upon  the 
cabin  where  the  citizens  and  others  had  gathered  for  mutual 
protection,  and  after  a  skirmish  in  which  shots  were  given 
and  returned,  a  settlement  was  effected,  all  parties  joining  in 
a  treat.  But  as  Governor  Geary's  proclamation  had  been 
issued,  the  United  States  troops  went  for  Harvey's  men  and 
arrested  them.  Some  escaped,  but  101  were  brought  to 
Lecompton,  and  were  kept  prisoners  several  months,  all  on 
account  of  the  generalship  of  Sanborn's  "  indispensable " 
hero,  Lane. 

This  is  a  very  brief  outline  of  the  conflict  of  1856.  As  it 
has  been  claimed  that  two  men,  and  not  the  policy  and 
members  of  the  Free-State  party,  saved  the  cause  of  free 
Kansas,  care  has  been  taken  to  give  their  course  in  full.  As 
has  been  seen,  this  policy  of  the  Free-State  men  and  party 
had  been  to  do  no  wrong,  commit  no  crime,  but  to  prevent 
the  establishment  of  slavery  by  the  so-called  territorial  laws 


CONDITION    OF    TERRITORY.  329 

by  making  them  a  dead  letter — by  the  baffling  process  which 
Governor  Shannon  conceded  would  nullify  them.  As  An- 
dreas says,  the  policy  of  assassination,  plunder,  theft,  rob- 
bery, arson,  and  murder  was  inaugurated  by  John  Brown, 
and  his  followers  practiced  such  outrages  through  the  entire 
season.  This,  of  course,  gave  excuse  for  retaliation  in  kind, 
which  was  most  successfully  practiced  by  the  Slave-State 
party  until  the  Free-State  men  were  virtually  subdued  and 
driven  from  the  field.  Had  there  been  no  outside  influences 
to  interfere,  three  days  more  would  have  sufficed  to  lay 
waste  every  Free-State  settlement  in  the  Territory,  including 
Lawrence,  Topeka,  and  Manhattan.  Their  fate  would  have 
been  that  of  Osawatomie.  The  territory  outside  of  these 
settlements  was  already  a  conquered  province.  Lawrence 
was  in  a  state  of  siege  and  nearly  destitute  of  provisions, 
under  the  exclusive  generalship  of  Lane  and  Brown,  while 
the  atmosphere  was  blackened  with  the  smoke  of  burning 
shanties  and  cabins  of  Free-State  men. 

Governor  Geary  gives  a  striking  picture  of  the  situation 
as  seen  on  his  arrival,  as  follows : 

"  I  reached  Kansas  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  my  official 
duties  in  the  most  gloomy  hour  of  her  history.  Desolation  and  ruin 
reigned  on  every  hand ;  homes  and  firesides  were  deserted ;  the  smoke 
of  burning  dwellings  darkened  the  atmosphere ;  women  and  children, 
driven  from  their  habitations,  wandered  over  the  prairies  and  among 
the  woodlands,  or  sought  refuge  and  protection  even  among  the  Indian 
tribes.  The  highways  were  infested  with  numerous  predatory  bands, 
and  the  towns  were  fortified  and  garrisoned  by  armies  of  conflicting 
partisans,  each  excited  almost  to  frenzy,  and  determined  upon  mutual 
extermination.  Such  was,  without  exaggeration,  the  condition  of  the 
Territory  at  the  period  of  my  arrival." 

Redpath  says  that  nearly  all  Free-State  settlers  had  been 
driven  from  Linn  and  Miami  counties,  the  neighborhood  of 
Brown's  Dutch  Henry's  massacre,  and  all  north  of  the  Kan- 
sas River  was  completely  subjugated  ;  so  much  so  that  Lane, 
the  commanding  General  of  the  Free-State  forces,  did  not 
dare  attempt  his  escape  through  this  region  without  a  body- 


33°  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

guard  of  nearly  or  quite  thirty  men.  But,  it  will  be  asked, 
did  not  these  men,  Brown  and  Lane,  show  remarkable  traits 
of  generalship  ?  The  only  battles  in  which  Brown  was  en- 
gaged were  at  Black  Jack  and  Osawatomie.  At  the  first 
Captain  Shore  had  nineteen  men  and  Brown  nine.  Shore 
with  his  men  attacked  Pate  from  the  open  prairie  and  drove 
him  into  the  ravine,  while  Brown  took  to  the  ravine  at  once, 
and  was  not  in  sight  of  the  foe  at  all.  Shore  also  went  into 
the  ravine,  and  shots  were  exchanged  for  several  hours,  till 
Captain  J.  B.  Abbott  appeared  in  sight  of  the  enemy  with 
his  company,  when  Pate  surrendered.  This  is  substantially 
the  part  played  in  this  battle  by  Brown. 

At  the  other  battle,  the  second  raid  upon  Osawatomie,  all 
the  Free-State  men,  under  command  of  Captains  Updegraff, 
Brown,  and  Cline,  immediately  went  to  the  timber  of  the 
Marais  des  Cygnes,  where  a  few  shots  were  exchanged. 
When  pressed  by  the  enemy,  there  was  no  orderly  retreat, 
as  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  but  a  general  "  skedaddle," 
every  man  for  himself.  John  Brown  disappeared  with  the 
rest,  and  was  not  again  seen  till  near  night,  when  Captain  J. 
M.  Anthony,  brother  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  saw  him.  Cap- 
tain Anthony,  after  caring  for  Dr.  Updegraff  and  others, 
says :  "  I  went  back  to  the  Crane  house,  and  began  to  think 
about  getting  something  to  eat,  as  we  had  gone  out  without 
breakfast,  and  had  had  nothing  to  eat  all  day.  I  went  down 
to  the  barn-yard  to  milk  the  cow,  and  while  doing  that  saw 
John  Brown  advancing  up  the  ravine.  When  he  got  to 
within  about  twenty  feet  of  me,  or  just  across  the  fence,  he 
stopped,  and  said,  '  Hello,  is  that  you  ? '  I  replied  that  it 
was  undoubtedly,  and  we  talked  for  several  minutes,  he  ask- 
ing me  all  about  the  result  of  the  day's  engagement.  He 
seemed  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of  the  result,  and,  like  Dr. 
Updegraff,  and  indeed  everybody  else,  thought  the  whole 
community  had  been  killed."  These  are  the  only  battles  in 
1856  where  Brown  had  any  men  or  exercised  any  authority, 
notwithstanding,  according  to  Redpath  and  company,  it 


LANES    EXPLOITS.  331 

would  be  inferred  he  was  a  prodigy  of  valor  and  generalship. 
Lane's  encounters  have  already  been  given.  He  marched 
his  "  live  and  straw  men,"  according  to  his  special  friend 
and  eulogizer,  John  Speer,  to  Washington  Creek,  and  then 
fled  between  two  days  to  Nebraska,  where  he  threw  up 
breastworks  to  fortify  the  line,  whether  to  prevent  ingress  or 
egress  does  not  appear.  He  also,  as  Andreas  says,  "  made 
a  faint  feint "  against  Reid's  forces  near  Bull  Creek,  after 
the  destruction  of  Osawatomie,  at  which  "  he  was  an  adept," 
and  his  march  with  the  command  to  Lecompton,  led  by 
Colonel  Samuel  Walker.  These  are  all  of  his  exploits,  except 
stripping  Lawrence  of  its  arms  and  men  to  help  him  escape 
from  the  2800  Missourians  in  September.  These  particulars 
are  given  simply  because,  on  account  of  the  scribblings  of 
hero-worshippers,  these  men  have  been  made  to  appear  as 
the  saviors  of  Kansas,  when  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Free- 
State  policy,  Kansas  would  have  been  saved  with  much  less 
suffering  and  bloodshed  without  than  with  them.  Also  it  is 
a  great  injustice  to  the  really  brave  and  fighting  men,  whose 
courage,  prudence,  and  firmness  did  save  the  cause,  in  spite 
of  the  reckless  course  of  Brown  and  the  reckless  advice  of 
Lane. 

The  men  relied  upon  for  fighting  purposes  were  those 
connected  with  the  different  military  organizations,  and 
others ;  while  the  policy  was  adopted  by  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  Free-State  party,  except  the  two  heroes  who  would 
have  brought  the  party  in  conflict  with  Federal  authority  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  had  they  not  been  prevented. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  CONDUCT  OF  THE  ARMY    IN   KANSAS. AGITATION    IN 

THE    EAST. THE    PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTION. GOVERNOR 

GEARY'S  FAILURE. 

THE  question  will  be  asked,  if  Kansas  was  powerless  to 
save  itself,  what  agency  or  agencies  did  save  it  ?  The  im- 
mediate and  direct  agency  was  Governor  Geary  with  the 
United  States  troops ;  and  President  Pierce  sent  the  Gov- 
ernor to  do  the  work ;  but  what  induced  the  President  to 
take  this  action  ?  The  answer  is  rather  intricate.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  a  messenger  was  sent  East  after  the  con- 
sultation of  Howard  and  Sherman,  of  the  Congressional 
Committee,  with  Reeder,  Roberts,  Mrs.  Sherman,  Mrs. 
Robinson,  and  Robinson.  This  messenger  visited,  among 
others,  Amos  A.  Lawrence  of  Boston.  Mr.  Lawrence  was 
familiar  with  every  movement  that  had  been  made  in  Kan- 
sas affairs,  and  comprehended  the  situation  at  once.  He 
immediately  set  his  machinery  in  motion.  He  caused  peti- 
tions to  be  circulated  for  assembling  the  Legislatures  in  the 
Northern  States,  that  steps  might  be  taken  to  protect  their 
citizens  in  Kansas  from  Federal  and  border  ruffian  outrage. 
Also  a  strong  protest  to  the  President  against  this  oppression 
was  drawn  up,  to  be  signed  by  Northern  governors,  all  to 
induce  him  to  call  a  halt  if  he  would  prevent  civil  war  in 
the  country. 

The  Congressional  Committee  made  a  report  which 
shocked  the  nation  from  centre  to  circumference.  All  re- 
ports of  outrages  sent  from  Kansas  were  more  than  con- 
firmed by  the  sworn  testimony  taken  by  this  committee. 


OUTSIDE    INFLUENCES.  333 

Abolitionists,  Free-soilers,  Whigs,  and  Democrats  stood 
aghast  at  this  revelation  of  infamy. 

The  blockade  of  the  Missouri  River  by  the  land  pirates 
along  its  banks  added  fuel  to  the  flames  of  indignation,  and 
armies  began  to  collect  and  march  through  Iowa  and  Ne- 
braska to  engage  in  the  civil  strife. 

The  arrest  and  confinement  of  men  guilty  of  no  crime  but 
that  of  defending  their  homes  from  outrage,  and  the  de- 
struction of  a  hotel  and  printing  presses  by  pretended  law, 
capped  the  climax. 

A  Presidential  election  was  pending,  and  should  the  out- 
rages and  disturbances  continue,  no  power  on  earth  could 
save  the  Democratic  party  from  utter  defeat. 

Add  to  all  this,  the  personal  appeal  of  Mrs.  Lawrence, 
mother  of  Amos  A.,  whose  good  opinion  the  President  said 
he  preferred  to  that  of  all  the  politicians,  and  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  discern  some  of  the  reasons  why  Geary  was  sent  out 
and  Kansas  relieved. 

The  appeal  of  Mrs.  Lawrence  to  the  President  is  thus 
referred  to  in  Professor  Spring's  "  Kansas,"  on  page  196  : 

"It  is  said  that  a  letter  was  received  from  a  lady — the  wife  of  one 
of  the  prisoners,  and  probably  Mrs.  Robinson — which  put  the  case  in  a 
favorable  light,  and  being  read  aloud  by  Mrs.  Pierce  to  her  husband,  it 
took  hold  of  the  feelings  of  both.  These  expectations  were  not  disap- 
pointed. 'I  have  given  such  orders  concerning  Dr.  Robinson  as  will 
please  you,'  President  Pierce  informed  the  Boston  friends,  and  the 
'  Bastile-on-the-prairies  '  was  broken  up.  Mr.  Lawrence's  knowledge 
of  the  letter,  a  not  inconsiderable  factor  in  effecting  the  modification  of 
Federal  policy  towards  Kansas,  which  now  took  place,  and  in  hastening 
the  arrival  of  Woodson's  successor  in  the  Territory,  was  not  so  slender 
as  his  language  might  seem  to  imply.  He  drafted  the  letter  himself, 
and  sent  it  to  Mrs.  Robinson,  who  copied  and  forwarded  it  to  Mrs. 
Pierce." 

A  word  about  the  officers  and  men  of  the  United  States 
Army.  It  has  been  customary  for  letter-writers  and  stump 
orators  to  denounce  the  army  as  the  ally  of  the  Slave-State 
party,  and  as  the  enemy  of  freedom.  This  is  a  great  mis- 


334  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

take.  The  army  was  entirely  independent  of  both  parties, 
and  was  always  on  the  side  of  law,  Federal  law,  and  the 
Constitution,  with  the  one  exception  of  dispersing  the  To- 
peka  Legislature,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1856.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  officers  of  the  United  States 
Army,  the  Free-State  struggle  would  have  ended  in  disaster 
on  more  than  one  occasion.  After  the  massacre  on  the 
Potawatomie,  all  western  Missouri  was  moving  upon  Kan- 
sas to  avenge  this  outrage  upon  unoffending  pro-slavery 
men.  It  is  true,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Sharp's  rifles  in 
the  possession  of  Shore's  and  Abbott's  companies,  Pate  had 
been  captured  and  was  held  prisoner  by  Brown,  but  two 
armies  were  marching  to  rescue  him,  one  under  General 
Whitfield  and  one  under  General  Coffin. 

Either  of  these  forces  would  have  annihilated  Brown  as 
soon  as  found,  and  the  appearance  of  Colonel  Sumner,  in 
obedience  to  the  proclamation  of  Governor  Shannon,  alone 
saved  him.  Colonel  Sumner  sent  all  the  Missouri  invaders 
home,  as  well  as  the  Free-State  military  companies. 

During  the  summer  of  1856,  had  the  troops  been  hostile 
to  the  Free-State  cause  and  acted  as  partisans,  there  were 
several  occasions  when  the  Free-State  men  would  have 
suffered.  One  of  these  was  when  Titus's  house  was  de- 
stroyed and  he  taken  prisoner ;  another  was  when  Lecomp- 
ton  was  visited  by  a  force  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  Free- 
State  men  to  procure  the  release  of  persons  held  as  prisoners. 

At  another  time  Governor  Woodson  directed  Colonel  P. 
St.  George  Cooke  to  visit  Topeka,  make  a  general  attack 
upon  it,  as  in  rebellion,  and  destroy  its  defenses.  Colonel 
Cooke  promptly  and  emphatically  refused  to  comply  with 
this  order  or  demand.  Here  is  the  correspondence : 

"  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  LECOMPTON,  K.  T., 

"  September  I,  1856. 

"  SIR  :  The  Marshal  of  the  Territory  having  officially  reported  to  me 
that  '  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceedings  and  the  powers  in- 
vested in  him  as  United  States  Marshal  are  wholly  inadequate  for  the 
suppression  of  the  insurrectionary  combinations  known  to  exist  through- 


WOODSON    AND    COOKE.  335 

out  the  whole  extent  of  the  Territory,'  it  becomes  my  duty,  as  the  Act- 
ing Executive,  to  make  a  requisition  upon  you  for  your  entire  command, 
or  such  portion  of  it  as  may,  in  your  judgment,  be  consistently  detached 
from  their  ordinary  duty,  to  aid  me  in  suppressing  these  insurrectionary 
combinations  and  invasive  aggressions  against  the  organized  government 
of  the  Territory  of  Kansas. 

"  Your  command,  or  such  part  of  it  as  may  be  deemed  necessary, 
will  therefore  proceed  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment  to  invest  the 
town  of  Topeka,  and  disarm  all  the  insurrectionists  or  aggressive  in- 
vaders against  the  organized  government  of  the  Territory  to  be  found 
at  or  near  that  point,  retaining  them  as  prisoners,  subject  to  the  order 
of  the  Marshal  of  the  Territory. 

"  All  their  breastworks,  forts,  or  fortifications  should  be  levelled  to 
the  ground. 

"  It  is  very  desirable  to  intercept  all  aggressive  invaders  against  the 
Government  on  the  road  known  as  '  Lane's  trail,'  leading  from  the  Ne- 
braska line  to  Topeka.  If,  therefore,  your  command  is  sufficiently 
large  to  admit  of  it,  a  detachment  should  be  stationed  on  the  road  with 
orders  to  intercept  all  such  '  aggressive  invaders  '  as  they  may  make 
their  appearance. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  DANIEL  WOODSON, 
"  Acting  Governor  of  Kansas  Territory. 

"  Lieutenant-Colonel  P.  St.  George  Cooke,   Commanding  United  States 
Dragoons,  near  Lecompton. " 

"  HEADQUARTERS,  CAMP  NEAR  LECOMPTON,  K.  T., 

"  September  2,  1856 — 6  A.M. 

"  SIR:  I  received  last  night  your  letter  of  September  ist,  informing 
me  that  the  Marshal  of  the  Territory  had  officially  reported  to  you  that 
'  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceedings  and  the  powers  vested  in 
him  as  United  States  Marshal  are  wholly  inadequate  for  the  suppression 
of  insurrectionary  combinations  known  to  exist  throughout  the  whole 
extent  of  the  Territory,'  and  you  therefore  make  requisition  to  aid  you 
'  in  suppressing  these  insurrectionary  combinations  and  invasive  aggres- 
sions '  by  marching  to  invest  the  town  of  Topeka,  '  disarming  all  the  in- 
surrectionists or  aggressive  invaders,  retaining  them  as  prisoners,  sub- 
ject to  the  order  of  the  Marshal,'  and  to  level  to  the  ground  all  breast- 
works, etc. 

"  Since  my  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  War  (February  I5th), 
I  am  instructed  by  a  letter  from  the  Adjutant-General  to  Colonel  Sumner, 
dated  March  26,  1856,  in  relation  to  the  course  to  be  pursued  towards 
armed  bodies  coming  into  the  Territory,  that '  it  is  only  when  an  armed 
resistance  is  offered  to  the  laws  and  against  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the 


336  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Territory,  and  when  under  such  circumstances  a  requisition  for  a  mili- 
tary force  is  made  upon  the  commanding  officer  by  the  authority  speci- 
fied in  his  instructions,  that  he  is  empowered  to  act.' 

"  I  am  further  instructed  by  General  Smith  (August  28,  1856),  that 
if  it  should  come  to  my  knowledge  '  that  either  side  is  moving  upon  the 
other  with  a  view  of  attack,  it  will  become  my  duty  to  observe  their 
movements  and  prevent  such  hostile  collision.'  But  it  will  not  be 
within  the  province  of  the  troops  to  interfere  with  persons  who  may 
have  come  from  a  distance  to  give  protection  to  their  friends,  or  others 
who  may  be  behaving  themselves  in  a  peaceable  or  lawful  manner. 
And,  further,  '  to  make  every  exertion  in  my  power  with  the  force  under 
my  orders  to  preserve  the  peace  and  prevent  bloodshed.' 

"  It  is  evident,  both  under  the  laws  and  my  infractions,  that  the  last 
resort — the  effusion  of  the  blood  of  the  citizens  by  the  military  power— 
must  be  induced  by  a  special  act  of  resistance  to  the  civil  officer  in  the 
execution  of  his  legal  duty  when  assisted  by  that  power.  In  no  case 
yet  has  the  Marshal  of  the  Territory,  thus  aided,  been  resisted.  Is'o 
specification  of  resistance  by  the  people  of  Topeka  is  made  in  your 
requisition,  nor  is  my  aid  asked  to  assist  the  Marshal  in  the  execution 
there  of  any  law  or  the  process  of  any  court.  It  is  simply  a  call  upon 
me  to  make  war  upon  the  town  of  Topeka,  to  '  invest '  it,  '  make  pris- 
oners,' level  defenses. 

"  Your  request  that  I  should  station  troops  on  '  Lane's  trail '  to  'in- 
tercept aggressive  invaders,'  would  be  clearly  inconsistent  with  my  last 
instructions  '  not  to  interfere  with  persons  who  have  come  from  a  dis- 
tance,' etc.,  as  well  as  those  of  March  26th. 

"  In  my  best  judgment,  I  cannot  comply  with  your  call.  If  the 
army  be  useless  in  the  present  unhappy  crisis,  it  is  because  in  our  con- 
stitution and  law  civil  war  was  not  foreseen,  nor  the  contingency  of  a 
systematic  resistance  by  the  people  to  governments  of  their  own  crea- 
tion, and  which,  at  short  intervals,  they  may  either  correct  or  change. 

"  Your  letter  will  be  forwarded  by  express  to  Major-General  Smith, 
for  his  consideration  and  action. 

"  With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  P.  St.  GEORGE  COOKE, 
"  Lieutenant-Colonel  Second  Dragoons. 
"  His  Excellency  Acting  Governor  Daniel  Woodson,  Lccompttm,  A'.  71" 

In  this  Colonel  Cooke  was  sustained  by  General  Smith, 
then  in  command  at  Fort  Leavenworth.  While  the  instruc- 
tions of  General  Smith  not  to  interfere  with  persons  who 
had  come  from  a  distance  to  protect  their  friends  in  Kan- 
sas, so  long  as  they  behaved  themselves  and  violated  no 


IMPORTANCE    OF    UNITED    STATES    ARMY.  337 

law,  seemed  at  first  sight  to  be  intended  to  aid  the  pro- 
slavery  party  in  protecting  the  people  from  Missouri  when 
they  should  come  to  protect  their  partisan  friends  from  mid- 
night assassinations,  it  is  but  just  to  say  that  he  was  impar- 
tial in  the  application  of  such  instructions,  and  Free-State 
men  from  the  North  through  Iowa  and  Nebraska  were 
treated  with  the  same  leniency  as  were  the  pro-slavery  men 
from  Missouri  and  the  South.  The  Free-State  prisoners  in 
charge  of  the  troops,  as  soon  as  Colonel  Sumner  visited  their 
camp,  were  treated  with  all  the  courtesy  and  kindness  they 
could  claim  under  the  circumstances,  and  without  exception 
the  prisoners  became  ardent  friends  of  their  keepers. 

At  the  close  of  the  conflict  of  arms,  on  the  arrival  of 
Governor  Geary,  the  United  States  troops  were  indispen- 
sable in  bringing  hostilities  to  an  end.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  command  of  Colonel  Cooke  before  Lawrence,  the 
1 5th  of  September,  1856,  there  is  but  little  question  that 
Lawrence  and  Topeka  would  have  shared  the  fate  of 
Osawatomie.  Without  the  troops  at  his  back,  Governor 
Geary  would  have  been  ignored  till  this  had  been  accom- 
plished. 

Take  it  all  in  all,  the  conduct  of  the  army  during  the  Kan- 
sas conflict,  even  though  under  the  direction  of  Jefferson 
Davis,  Secretary  of  War,  is  worthy  of  all  praise,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  dispersion  of  the  Legislature,  and 
this  was  afterwards  disapproved  even  by  Secretary  Davis 
and  the  President.  Army  officers,  as  a  rule,  are  above  all 
partisan  bias,  and  are  governed  strictly  by  the  Constitution, 
law,  and  army  regulations.  No  branch  of  the  Government 
is  so  free  from  partisan  or  personal  influence,  and  no  offi- 
cials are  governed  by  a  sense  of  honor  as  are  army  officers. 
The  experience  in  the  Kansas  conflict  has  shown  the  value 
of  the  regular  army  in  all  conflicts  among  the  people.  This 
is  the  only  force  that  can  be  relied  upon  to  hold  the  scales 
of  justice  even  when  "  madness  rules  the  hour." 

Governor  Geary  having  brought  the  olive  branch  to  Kan- 
•22 


338  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

sas,  there  was  a  general  stampede  of  such  leading  Free-State 
men  as  had  remained  through  the  season  to  the  States  where 
the  Presidential  campaign  was  raging  with  great  fury. 
General  Fremont  was  the  nominee  of  the  Republicans  and 
James  Buchanan  of  the  Democrats.  Fremont  had  warmly 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  Kansas  settlers,  and  had  many 
elements  of  popularity.  Had  the  unbiased  sentiment  of  the 
voters  prevailed,  he  would  have  been  elected,  but  money 
was  used  to  carry  Pennsylvania  in  the  October  election  for 
the  Democrats,  and  from  that  time  there  was  no  such  thing 
as  stemming  the  tide  that  set  Buchanan-ward.  The  October 
vote  of  Pennsylvania  was  offered  to  the  Republican  Na- 
tional Executive  Committee  for  a  consideration,  but  the 
money  was  not  forthcoming,  and  the  transfer  was  made  to 
the  other  party.  Here  was  the  first  object-lesson  on  a  large 
scale  of  machine  politics  the  writer  had  ever  witnessed. 
From  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  had  but  little  faith  in 
the  triumph  of  principle,  pure  and  simple,  in  national  poli- 
tics. The  oppressed  people  may  agitate,  educate,  and  or- 
ganize for  relief,  but  when  election-day  arrives,  the  dema- 
gogues who  seize  the  reins  of  their  party  will  sell  out  to  the 
highest  bidder  for  cash  or  spoils.  Such  has  been  uniformly 
the  case  in  the  past,  and  such  it  will  probably  continue  to 
be  in  all  powerful  governments,  whatever  the  form. 

The  election  of  James  Buchanan  was  notice  to  all  Kan- 
sans  that  their  struggle  was  not  ended.  While  the  conflict 
of  arms  might  not  be  renewed,  there  was  to  be  one  of  poli- 
tics which  would  require  all  the  skill  of  veterans  to  manage 
successfully. 

The  agitation  of  the  Presidential  campaign  and  the  ces- 
sation of  hostilities  started  the  Free-State  emigrants  to  Kansas 
in  great  numbers,  and  there  was  to  be  no  question  as  to  major- 
ities. No  political  action  would  be  called  for  until  1857,  and 
the  respective  parties  had  plenty  of  time  to  lay  their  plans. 
While  there  was  an  election  in  1856  for  one  branch  of  the 
Legislature,  the  Free-State  men  ignored  it,  as  it  would  give 


MURDER    OK    BUKFUM. 


339 


them  but  one  House,  even  if  successful.  Besides,  the  Slave- 
State  party  had  the  "returning  boards,"  and  there  must  be 
some  assurance  that  they  would  make  honest  counts  and 
honest  returns.  In  the  meantime  Governor  Geary  was  tak- 
ing his  first  lesson  with  his  own  party.  He  had  come  to 
Kansas  with  a  purpose,  namely,  to  quiet  disturbances  that 
the  election  of  Buchanan  might  be  secured.  This  had  been 
accomplished,  and  he  vainly  imagined  that  he  was  a  char- 
acter of  great  importance,  and  that  he  could  rule  the  destiny 
of  Kansas.  But  he  was  not  long  in  discovering  his  error. 
When  he  sent  to  their  homes  the  2800  men  menacing  Law- 
rence, one  party  passed  up  the  California  road  to  Lecomp- 
ton.  A  man  of  this  party  named  Hays  wantonly  shot  a 
peaceable  settler,  a  cripple,  named  Buffum,  almost  in  the 
presence  of  Geary,  who  took  the  poor  man's  hand  in  his  own 
as  he  was  dying  and  pledged  him  that  his  murderer  should 
be  brought  to  just  punishment.  At  great  expense  the  Gov- 
ernor caused  the  arrest  of  Hays,  when  Judge  Lecompte 
issued  his  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  discharged  him  on  bail. 
Then  Governor  Geary  became  indignant,  and  demanded  of 
the  President  the  removal  of  Lecompte.  But  he  soon  dis- 
covered that  Lecompte  was  the  favorite  at  Washington,  and 
not  Geary,  and  that  the  effort  to  fasten  slavery  upon  Kan- 
sas had  been  by  no  means  abandoned.  Geary  eventually 
learned  that  he  was  mere  surplusage,  and  only  nominally 
Governor  of  the  Territory.  Before  this  fact  dawned  upon 
him,  however,  he  conceived  a  plan  of  settling  forever  the 
conflict  in  the  Territory  by  securing  admission  to  the  Union 
as  a  State  under  the  Topeka  Constitution.  He  sent  for 
Robinson,  the  Governor  elect,  for  an  interview  at  his  office. 
Governor  Geary  was  confident  that  Buchanan  would  be 
glad  to  be  rid  of  the  controversy  in  any  feasible  way,  and 
was  quite  sure,  if  the  office  of  governor  could  be  made  va- 
cant that  some  Democrat  might  fill  the  position,  there  would 
be  no  question  of  the  approval  of  the  Administration  at 
Washington.  It  was  evident  that  Governor  Geary  would 


340  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

expect  to  be  the  successful  candidate  for  State  governor. 
Robinson,  who  had  staked  his  all  upon  the  single  issue  of 
a  Free-State  for  Kansas,  and  would  be  glad  of  success  at 
whatever  cost  to  himself,  short  of  dishonor,  at  once  agreed 
to  make  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  governor,  and  visit 
Washington  to  advise  with  the  Republicans  in  Congress ; 
while  Geary  was  to  reconcile  the  Administration,  which  he 
had  no  doubt  could  be  easily,  accomplished.  Accordingly, 
Robinson  gave  his  resignation  to  Lieutenant-Governor 
Roberts,  and  went  to  Washington.  He  was  not  long  in 
learning,  however,  that  the  Democrats  had  regard  neither 
for  this  plan  nor  for  Governor  Geary.  It  was  evident  that 
Geary's  plans  and  recommendations  were  at  a  great  discount 
at  Washington.  While  Geary  supposed  his  mission  to  Kan- 
sas for  quieting  the  Territory  that  Buchanan  might  be 
elected  meant  also  the  abandonment  of  the  Slave-State  con- 
test, the  party  manipulators  meant  no  such  thing.  They 
gladly  used  Geary,  and  suspended  hostilities  to  tide  over  the 
election,  but  the  endeavor  to  subjugate  Kansas  to  slavery 
was  by  no  means  to  be  abandoned. 

As  soon  as  it  became  generally  known  that  the  State  Gov- 
ernor elect  had  left  his  resignation  with  Lieutenant-Governor 
Roberts  and  gone  to  Washington,  a  howl  went  up  from  his 
enemies,  of  which  he  always  had  an  ample  supply,  accusing 
him  of  desertion  of  the  Free-State  cause,  and  of  all  the  polit- 
ical crimes  known  to  the  calendar.  Even  the  Herald  of 
Freedom  joined  the  chorus.  The  Legislature  was  to  meet 
in  January,  but  neither  Robinson  nor  Roberts  was  present. 
Instead  of  presenting  the  resignation  of  Robinson  to  the 
Legislature  as  expected,  Roberts  was  himself  absent.  The 
indignation  manifested  was  legitimate  and  the  censure  mer- 
ited. However,  at  the  convention  held  on  March  10,  1857, 
Robinson  had  returned  and  explained  his  course  to  the  con- 
vention, when  a  resolution  was  adopted  expressing  satisfac- 
tion with  the  explanation  and  requesting  a  withdrawal  of  the 
resignation.  The  resignation,  which  had  never  been  pre- 


GEARY    NOT    SUSTAINED.  341 

sented  to  the  Legislature,  was  revoked  and  peace  once  more 
prevailed. 

Instead  of  paving  the  way  for  admission  to  the  Union  by 
his  scheme,  Governor  Geary  found  he  had  merely  involved 
himself  in  trouble.  The  Territorial  Legislature  held  a  ses- 
sion, and  soon  war  raged  with  the  Executive.  Bills  would 
be  vetoed  only  to  be  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  as  soon  as 
returned ;  and  had  the  Governor  and  Legislature  belonged 
to  opposite  political  parties,  the  hostility  could  not  have 
been  more  bitter.  At  length  matters  reached  a  crisis,  when 
the  Governor  refused  to  appoint  a  Mr.  Sherard  to  an  office 
he  desired.  Sherard  grossly  insulted  the  Governor,  whose 
friends  called  a  mass  meeting  to  denounce  the  insult.  But 
the  insulter  appeared,  drew  his  revolver,  and  commenced 
shooting  at  random,  when  Mr.  Jones,  a  friend  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, shot  him  dead.  From  this  time  henceforth  there  was 
no  rest  in  Kansas  for  Governor  Geary,  and  he  took  advan- 
tage of  the  darkness  and  the  services  of  Colonel  Walker  to 
make  his  exit.  His  resignation  took  effect  on  the  4th  of 
March,  the  day  the  man  he  had  been  instrumental  in  elect- 
ing President  entered  upon  his  office. 

No  Governor  had  a  more  difficult  role  to  play  than 
Geary.  If  his  course  should  please  one  party,  it  was  sure 
to  offend  the  other.  His  first  move  of  pacification,  however, 
was  accepted  by  both  parties — by  the  Free-State  party  be- 
cause their  constitutional  rights  were  restored  to  them,  and 
by  the  pro-slavery  party  because  of  the  golitical  necessity. 
Had  Geary  after  the  election  ignored  his  pledges  to  the 
people  and  joined  in  the  effort  to  fasten  slavery  upon  Kan- 
sas by  means  of  the  Lecompton  Constitution  provided  by 
his  Legislature,  he  might  have  retained  his  office,  but  at  the 
expense  of  his  plighted  word.  He  chose  to  remain  true  to 
his  pledges,  and  retain  his  honor  and  self-respect,  and  was 
discarded  by  his  party. 

His  plan  for  putting  down  the  thieves  and  outlaws  of  both 
parties  was  excellent.  He  had  mustered  into  the  service 


342  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

two  companies  of  the  citizens,  one  under  Colonel  Titus  and 
one  under  Captain  Walker.  This  worked  to  a  charm.  The 
pro-slavery  company  would  see  that  no  depredations  were 
committed  upon  their  friends,  and  the  Free-State  company 
would  attend  to  the  others.  At  this  time  a  large  number  of 
"  reprisal "  men,  professedly  Free-State,  were  subsisting  on 
the  people  by  robbery,  and  they  had  no  idea  of  giving  up 
their  occupation.  Dr.  Brown,  in  his  "  Reminiscences," 
page  4 1 ,  refers  to  some  of  them  as  follows : 

"  AN  EXCITING  INCIDENT. 

"  To  illustrate  the  times  and  disturbed  state  of  Kansas  during  this 
interesting  period  in  the  history  of  the  Territory,  I  give  the  following 
facts : 

"After  our  release  from  imprisonment;  the  arrival  of  Governor 
Geary;  the  return  of  Generals  Heiskell  and  Reid,  with  their  invading 
army  of  twenty-seven  hundred  to  Missouri ;  the  disappearance  of  Old 
John  Brown,  his  sons,  and  their  families  towards  Iowa;  the  arrest  and 
imprisonment  of  Colonel  Harvey  and  his  command  of  one  hundred, 
who  had  unwisely  responded  to  an  '  order '  of  General  Lane's,  after 
Governor  Geary's  proclamation  of  peace ;  and  while  Governor  Geary 
and  his  escort  were  making  a  tour  of  southern  Kansas  to  tranquilli/.e 
the  agitation  in  that  quarter,  probably  some  time  during  the  last  dny •- 
of  October,  I  was  sitting  at  my  table,  in  the  sanctum  of  the  Herald  <>/" 
Freedom  office  building,  preparing  copy  for  the  paper.  A  rap  at  tin- 
inner  door.  I  arose,  opened  it,  and  saw  three  men  standing  before  me, 
armed  with  revolvers  and  bowies,  and  I  think  Sharp's  rifles.  Speaking 
to  them,  one  introduced  himself  as  Captain  H.  Shaking  hands  with 
him,  he  then  introduced  the  others,  one  as  '  my  First  Lieutenant,'  giv- 
ing his  name,  which  has  escaped  me;  the  other  as  '  Second  Lieutenant,' 
whose  name  is  also  forgotten.  I  passed  them  chairs,  and  took  a  seat 
myself  at  the  table  where  I  had  been  writing. 

"  Captain  H.  opened  the  conversation  ;  inquired  how  soon  the  //<•;•<//</ 
of  Freedom  would  again  appear;  congratulated  me  on  my  restoration  to 
liberty,  and  then  said,  with  a  hearty  laugh,  in  which  the  whole  trio 
joined:  'Governor  Geary  is  tranquillizing  the  Territory.'  I  replied 
that  he  seemed  to  be  doing  much  in  that  direction,  and  from  the  char- 
acter of  letters  to  me  from  personal  friends  in  Pennsylvania,  who  knew 
Governor  Geary  well,  I  had  no  doubt  of  his  success,  provided  the  au- 
thorities at  Washington  would  not  interfere  with  his  work. 

"  '  He  can  never  do  it,'  replied  Captain  H.     '  It  is  too  late.     The 


"REPRISAL"  MEN.  343 

ruffians  have  overrun  Kansas,  have  had  their  day  until  the  Free-State 
men  are  thoroughly  organized  for  revenge,  and  now  they  want  to  tran- 
quillize us.  Ha,  ha,  ha,  they  can't  do  it.  Let  me  tell  you,  Mr. 
Brown,  my  lieutenants  here  and  myself  have  been  following  in  the  rear 
of  Governor  Geary's  pacific  tour,  and  we  have  been  trying  to  show  that 
the  thing  won't  tranquillize.'  He  then  proceeded  to  narrate  various 
crimes  they  had  committed,  entering  into  details,  telling  of  murders, 
arsons,  rapes,  horse-stealing,  and  other  offenses  of  an  aggravated  char- 
acter. *  *  * 

'  '  I  think  you  mistake  the  true  policy.  Our  ambition  is  to  make 
Kansas  a  free  State.  Our  success  is  contingent  upon  the  number  of 
actual  settlers  we  have  from  the  free  North,  who  will  co-operate  with 
us.  To  get  these  settlers  it  is  our  interest,  as  well  as  duty,  to  quiet 
down  the  excitement,  show  up  the  beauty  of  the  country,  the  healthful 
climate,  productive  soil,  and  satisfy  them  that  we  have  the  ability  to 
make  it  free,  and  we  will  see  such  an  emigration  Kansas-ward  next 
spring  as  the  world  has  never  seen  before.  You  must  remember,  Cap- 
tain', that  the  great  mass  of  us  are  here  with  our  families,  our  property, 
with  all  we  have  in  the  world.  We  came  here  to  build  up  homes  and 
free  institutions,  and  to  be  successful  we  must  have  peace  and  quiet.' 

"  '  You  can't  do  it.  You  can't  do  it.  It  is  too  late.  We  have  got 
stirred  up  in  the  matter,  and  by  G —  we  shall  keep  it  stirred  up.  I  have 
told  you  what  we  have  done.  We  shall  continue  in  the  rear  of  Gov- 
ernor Geary's  movements,  and  we  shall  continue  to  agitate,'  replied  the 
Captain,  the  lieutenants  with  oaths  endorsing  his  threats. 

'  '  Gentlemen,  if  this  is  the  case,  I  shall  feel  in  honor  bound  to  re- 
peat this  conversation  to  Governor  Geary,  and,  much  as  I  despise  the 
bogus  authorities,  I  shall  hope  to  see  you  arrested  and  convicted  for 
your  crimes.'  *  *  * 

"They  retreated  down-stairs;  and  twenty-two  years  have  passed 
since  then.  Whether  any  of  them  are  now  living,  I  don't  know,  but 
the  facts  are  in  every  essential  particular  as  I  have  narrated." 

But  Walker  and  Titus  were  too  much  for  the  thieves,  and 
some  of  them  left  the  Territory  and  joined  John  Brown  in 
the  States,  and  others  went  into  southern  Kansas,  to  appear 
again  later. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

STATE    AND    TERRITORIAL    ELECTIONS    IN     1857. 

THE  year  1857  was  as  noteworthy  for  its  political  conflicts 
as  was  1856  for  its  warlike  demonstrations.  The  Legislature 
of  1856  had  provided  for  a  State  Constitution,  the  members 
of  the  convention  for  which  were  to  be  elected  June  15, 
1857  ;  the  Topeka  State  government  required  an  election 
of  State  officers  and  a  Legislature  ,  and  the  election  of  a 
Territorial  Legislature  was  to  be  held  on  the-  5th  and  6th 
of  October. 

The  first  question  to  be  met  was,  Shall  the  Free-State 
party  participate  in  the  election  of  members  of  the  Lecomp- 
ton  Constitutional  Convention  ?  On  examining  the  regula- 
tions for  the  election  as  provided  by  the  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture, it  was  found  that  no  honest  election  was  intended  or 
would  be  permitted.  The  Missouri  Democrat,  of  March 
1 3th,  thus  speaks  ; 

"If  ever  means  were  taken  to  pack  a  convention,  they  have  been 
taken  in  this  case.  Nothing  has  been  omitted — nothing  left  to  chance. 
The  plan  of  packing  is  as  elaborate  and  as  perfect  as  the  wit  of  man  ran 
make  it.  The  time,  the  mode,  and  the  machinery  have  been  selected 
with  Satanic  skill.  Every  contingency  is  provided  for  in  this  compact 
and  complicated  scheme.  From  the  taking  of  the  census  by  the  county 
sheriff  to  the  organization  of  the  convention,  through  the  graded  sur- 
veillance of  election  judges,  probate  judges,  etc.,  the  felon  Legislature 
has  provided  as  effectively  for  securing  the  desired  result  as  Louis  Na- 
poleon did  for  getting  himself  elected  emperor. 

"  The  irresponsibility  of  the  convention  and  the  integrity  of  its  pro- 
duction from  the  subsequent  action  of  the  people,  are  also  carefully 
provided  for.  The  ratifying  voice  of  the  people,  contrary  to  usage,  is 
ignored.  No  freedom  of  election  and  no  official  fidelity  can  be  expected. 


WALKER    AND    STANTON.  345 

Afraid  of  the  spring  immigration,  the  felon  Legislature  disfranchised 
everyone  who  should  not  be  a  resident  on  the  1 5th  instant;  and  to 
prevent  the  rejection  of  the  constitution  (adopted  long  since  in  the 
caucuses  of  the  Blue  Lodge),  no  provisions  were  made  for  submitting 
that  radiant  scroll  to  the  people.  The  convention  will  be  packed  from 
the  foundation-stone  to  its  eave-stone,  and  every  honest  man  in  Kansas 
will  therefore  see  the  propriety  of  shunning  it  as  he  would  Pandemo- 
nium itself." 

President  Buchanan  appointed  Hon.  Robert  J.  Walker 
Governor,  and  Hon.  F.  P.  Stanton  Secretary  of  the  Terri- 
tory, to  take  the  places  of  Governor  Geary,  resigned,  and 
of  Secretary  Woodson. 

Secretary  Stanton  arrived  in  April,  one  month  in  advance 
of  Governor  Walker,  and  on  the  24th  of  that  month  visited 
Lawrence,  where  he  addressed  the  citizens.  Like  all  other 
officials,  he  promised  to  enforce  the  territorial  laws  even  to 
the  extent  of  causing  "  war  to  the  knife  and  knife  to  the 
hilt."  In  all  other  respects  his  conduct  was  such  as  favor- 
ably to  impress  the  citizens.  Mr.  Stanton,  his  companion 
McLean,  and  Horace  White,  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  were 
entertained  by  Robinson  at  tea,  when  a  full  and  frank  dis- 
cussion of  the  questions  at  issue  was  had,  particularly  with 
reference  to  voting  for  delegates  to  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention. A  part  of  this  interview,  as  reported  by  Horace 
White  for  his  paper,  is  given  as  follows: 

' '  When  the  penumbra  of  the  new  Administration  appeared  in  Law- 
rence, accompanied  by  a  border  ruffian  in  steeple  boots,  the  citizens 
greeted  him  pleasantly  and  called  him  '  Governor.'  They  received  a 
pleasant  greeting  in  return  ;  Governor  Robinson  made  up  a  tea-party  for 
'  Governor '  Stanton  and  his  travelling  companion,  and  it  was  an- 
nounced that  Mr.  Stanton  would  address  the  citizens  in  the  evening. 

"  My  impression  of  Mr.  Stanton,  derived  from  some  little  intercourse 
previous  to  his  speech,  was  not  unpleasant.  The  impression  derived 
from  the  speech  itself  was  far  from  gratifying.  I  happened  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  tea-party  mentioned  above,  and  as  nothing  confidential  trans- 
pired, and  nothing  but  courtesy  and  good  feeling  manifested  itself,  I 
shall  take  occasion  to  report  some  parts  of  the  conversation  to  which  I 
was  a  listener.  I  do  this  more  especially  because  it  presents  a  brief 
summing  up  of  the  positions  of  two  parties  in  Kansas,  and  hints  con- 


346  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

earning  a  third.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  discussion  was  mainly  con- 
ducted by  Governor  Robinson  and  Mr.  Stanton's  friend  from  Lecomp- 
ton,  one  General  McLean,  who  casually  informed  us  that  he  led  the 
advance  guard  of  the  two  thousand  eight  hundred  braves  who  marched 
tmaards  Lawrence  some  time  last  summer : 

"  McLean — Whenever  the  Free-State  party  in  Kansas  convince  me 
that  they  have  an  actual  majority  of  the  residents  of  the  Territory  over 
the  National  Democracy,  I  and  my  friends  will  be  found  making  prep- 
arations to  depart.  If  the  National  Democracy — 

"  Robinson — We  won't  dispute  about  titles,  General,  unless  they 
have  an  especial  significance,  but  I  would  like  to  hear  your  definition 
of  a  National  Democrat. 

"  McLean — A  National  Democrat  is  any  man  from  the  North  or 
South,  from  the  East  or  West,  whose  faith  is  clearly  enunciated  in  the 
Cincinnati  platform. 

"  Robinson — But  I  happen  to  know  several  men  in  Kansas  answer- 
ing just  that  description,  who  declare  themselves  utterly  hostile  to 
slavery.  These  men  are  mostly  new-comers.  They  say  they  voted  for 
Buchanan  for  the  purpose  of  making  Kansas  free,  and  now  they  are  on 
the  ground  to  contribute  still  further  to  that  enterprise.  What  is  the 
distinction  between  these  and  the  Free-State  party? 

"  Stanton — If  you  call  one  party  Free-State,  General,  you  must  cer- 
tainly call  the  other  pro-slavery.  I  have  found  men  claiming  to  be 
Democrats,  myself,  who  intend  to  vote  for  Free-State  delegates  to  the 
Constitutional  Convention. 

"  McLean — That  is  all  very  well;  but  I  prefer  a  name  which  ap- 
plies equally  to  all  sections  of  the  country — something  National !  By 
the  National  Democracy  of  Kansas,  I  understand  that  party  which  pro- 
poses no  interference  with  the  rights  of  the  South. 

"  Robinson — But,  my  dear  sir,  I  propose  no  interference  with  the 
rights  of  the  South,  and  yet  I  shall  object  to  anybody  fastening  me  to 
the  Cincinnati  platform. 

"  McLean — I  think  the  distinction  is  plain  enough.  The  National 
Democracy  have  invited  the  Free-State  men  to  come  to  the  polls  on  a 
certain  day  and  determine  by  vote  which  party  has  a  majority  of  the 
actual  residents  of  Kansas.  You  Free-State  men  hold  a  convention  and 
resolve  that  you  have  four-fifths  of  the  population,  and  that  you  Tivv/Y 
i>ote.  Now,  what  sort  of  consistency  is  there  in  this? 

Robinson — The  action  of  the  Topeka  Convention  was  predicated  on 
certain  facts  which  have  been  well  known  to  the  '  National  Democracy' 
frjm  the  beginning.  Firstly,  the  Free-State  men  of  Kansas  have  never 
recognized  the  '  Territorial  Legislature,'  as  some  jn'oph-  rail  it.  Who- 
ever else  may  recognize  it  or  fail  to  recognize  it,  the  Free- State  men 
deny  its  legal  existence.  They  claim  that  it  is  not  even  a  government 


CONSTITUTIONAL    ELECTION.  347 

de facto.  They  do  not  appeal  to  its  laws  nor  have  dealings  with  its  offi- 
cers. No  one  pretends  to  execute  these  laws,  and  they  exist  merely  for 
the  benefit  of  the  public  printer.  Consequently,  the  Free-State  men 
see  nothing  in  the  proposed  election  but  the  old  farce  with  new  decora- 
tions and  scenery.  No  law  requires  them  to  vote.  They  will  not  in- 
terfere with  your  voting.  They  have  no  objection  to  your  doing  all  the 
voting.  In  this  way  you  will  secure  unanimity,  and  I  see  no  reason 
why  the  plan  should  give  the  '  National  Democracy  '  a  moment's  un- 
easiness. Secondly,  the  law  providing  for  this  election  takes  all  power 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  people,  after  the  delegates  are  elected.  It 
thrusts  the  Constitution  into  Congress  as  the  work  of  the  people,  with- 
out giving  the  people  an  opportunity  to  pronounce  upon  that  work. 
These  delegates  may  frame  a  constitution  infringing  the  liberty  of  speech 
and  the  press.  They  may  decree  test  oaths  as  a  qualification  for  voting. 
They  may  make  murder  a  bailable  offense.  They  may  infringe  the 
right  of  the  people  to  assemble  together  in  a  peaceable  manner  to  con- 
sult for  their  common  good.  They  may  establish  negro  slavery,  or  any 
other  kind  of  slavery,  as  a  permanent  institution  of  Kansas.  They  may 
take  away  the  right  of  amending  this  Constitution  from  the  latest  pos- 
terity. We  have  had  specimens  of  all  these  things  in  Kansas  legisla- 
tion, and  we  have  no  business  to  infer  that  the  creatures  of  any  legisla- 
tive body  will  be  better  than  the  Legislature  itself.  The  Free-State 
men  regard  it  as  indispensable  that  the  entire  work  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  be  submitted  for  the  approval  or  disapproval  of  those  whose 
welfare  it  affects.  Thirdly,  the  Free-State  men  consider  that  the  whole 
machinery  of  this  election  is  thrown  into  the  hands  of  their  bitter  ene- 
mies, and  that  no  safeguards  are  interposed  for  their  protection,  either 
in  the  vote  itself  or  the  subsequent  counting  of  votes.  I  need  not 
enumerate  for  this  company  the  provisions  of  that  law  in  this  regard. 
The  experience  of  the  Free-State  men  on  former  occasions  has  not  been 
such  as  to  impress  them  favorably  with  the  elective  franchise  as  oper- 
ated by  the  bogus  Legislature.  Men  who  have  lived  two  years  in  Kan- 
sas understand  that  the  Free-State  party  have  no  rights  on  election  day 
which  Missourians  are  bound  to  respect,  and  none-  which  the  United 
States  Government  takes  the  trouble  to  '  recognize.'  The  provision. of 
your  law  concerning  the  registration  of  votes  does  not  prevent  the 
registration  of  all  the  unemployed  residents  of  western  Missouri,  nor 
does  it  require  that  the  actual  residents  of  Kansas  shall  be  registered. 
Your  registry  being  perfected,  the  result  of  the  election  is  ascertained 
before  the  voting  commences.  After  the  voting  is  finished,  we  have  no 
guarantee  that  the  returns  will  correspond  either  with  the  ballots  depos- 
ited or  the  printed  list  of  qualified  voters.  I  am  free  to  confess  that  I 
doubt  the  integrity  of  three-fourths  of  the  officers  who  will  conduct, this 
election.  We  are  solicited,  in  the  face  «f  a  two  years'  experience, 


348  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

which  requires  no  comment  from  me,  to  confide  everything  we  hold 
dear  as  American  citizens  to  the  keeping  of  our  worst  enemies,  and  go 
away  trusting  to  their  honor,  presuming  that  they  have  sufficient  virtue 
to  register  none  but  actual  citizens  of  Kansas,  to  register  all  the  citizens 
of  Kansas,  to  receive  the  votes  of  all  the  citizens  who  choose  to  vote, 
to  make  the  returns  according  to  the  votes,  even  in  case  such  returns 
ruin  the  business  which  has  afforded  them  occupation  for  two  years. 
The  Free- State  men  of  Kansas  are  not  such  idiots.  The  evidence  is 
overwhelming  that  this  election  was  not  intended  to  ascertain  the  rela- 
tive strength  of  parties  in  Kansas,  but  to  entrap  our  party,  defraud 
them  of  all  their  rights,  and  make  a  slave  State  of  Kansas.  So  much 
for  the  Topeka  Convention.  How  have  subsequent  events  shown  the 
propriety  of  their  action?  Here  are  two  thousand  Missourians  regis- 
tered as  voters  in  Douglas  County — men  whom  no  citizen  of  Kansas 
ever  heard  of-except  as  he  met  them  on  some  foraging  excursion.  We 
look  over  this  list  for  the  names  of  the  oldest  citizens  of  Lawrence,  and 
they  are  not  to  be  found.  In  Quindaro,  where  I  live,  public  opinion  is 
divided  on  the  question  whether  the  census-taker  has  been  there  or  not. 
Two  or  three  men  pretend  to  have  seen  him.  I  haven't,  and  I  doubt 
whether  he  has  been  there  at  all.  If  he  has  ever  visited  that  place,  it 
was  not  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  registry  of  Leavenworth 
County.  The  list  was  published  some  weeks  ago,  and  our  town  left 
entirely  out  of  the  reckoning.  Some  of  the  neglected  ones  in  the  town 
of  Wyandotte  have  sent  their  names  to  the  proper  officer,  with  evidence 
of  their  citizenship,  and  he  has  either  refused  or  neglected  to  place  them 
on  the  list. 

"  At  Osawatomie,  I  am  informed,  three-fourths  of  the  list  is  made 
up  of  citizens  of  the  adjoining  county  in  Missouri.  At  a  place  thirty  or 
forty  miles  southwest  of  here  the  citizens  do  not  know,  except  by  hear- 
say, that  there  is  to  be  any  election.  They  have  never  known,  from 
the  beginning,  whether  they  were  enjoying  the  blessing  of  a  sheriff  and 
county  judge  or  not.  They  don't  know  whether  they  have  a  census- 
taker  among  them  or  not,  and  I  should  judge  they  didn't  care.  These 
are  specimens  of  our  territorial  job  work.  To  my  mind  they  demon- 
strate that  the  action  of  the  Topeka  Convention  was  entirely  proper, 
and  if  that  Convention  was  to  be  held  over  again,  my  part  in  it  would 
simply  be  a  repetition  of  my  part  in  the  other. 

"  Stanton — But  you  have  an  ample  remedy  for  all  this  alleged  fraud, 
in  the  law  creating  these  officers.  Bring  me  one  man  who  lias  taken 
the  proper  steps  to  have  his  name  registered  and  been  refused,  and  then 
see  what  becomes  of  the  officer.  Establish  that  the  list  of  Douglas 
County  contains  the  name  of  one  resident  of  Missouri,  and  see  how 
rapidly  that  list  is  expurgated  of  the  falsehood.  The  trouble  is,  you 
Free-State  men  are  not  willing  to  take  any  steps  looking  to  the  corrt-t- 


DISCUSSION    CONTINUED.  349 

tion  of  the  evils  you  complain  of.  The  Executive  of  this  Territory  is 
here  for  the  purpose  of  administering  impartial  justice,  and  when  you 
have  been  denied  redress  in  that  quarter,  I  will  acknowledge  for  one 
that  there  is  something  radically  wrong  in  the  government  of  Kansas. 

"  Robinson — Having  determined  to  take  no  part  in  the  election,  we 
are  naturally  not  solicitous  about  the  purity  of  the  voting  lists,  or  of  the 
voters  themselves  ;  but  you  now  offer  us  a  practical  impossibility.  In 
the  first  place,  the  citizens  of  Quindaro,  Lawrence,  and  Osawatomie  are 
men  of  business.  Their  time  is  valuable  to  them  and  indispensable  to 
their  families.  They  cannot  leave  their  business  and  go  hunting  a 
sheriff  or  a  census-taker,  particularly  if  he  spends  most  of  his  time  in 
another  State.  The  gentleman  with  the  census  roll  was  appointed  to 
visit  them,  not  they  the  officer. 

' '  I  have  no  time  to  waste  in  that  way,  and  I  presume  my  neighbors 
will  say  the  same  thing.  The  other  proposition,  that  we  show  the  lists 
to  be  fraudulent  in  respect  of  the  names  of  Missourians,  is  an  utter  im- 
possibility. It  is  an  attempt  to  establish  a  negative.  Mr.  Jones  Jen- 
kins may  be  a  resident  of  Westport,  Missouri.  I  may  know  it,  and  a 
dozen  others  may  know  the  same  thing.  We  may  establish  that  Mr. 
Jones  Jenkins  does  live  in  Westport,  Missouri.  We  then  visit  twenty 
of  the  oldest  residents  of  Douglas  County,  and  inquire  whether  Mr. 
Jenkins  has  ever  resided  there.  They  have  never  heard  of  any  such 
man  in  that  vicinity.  Here  we  have  established  that  one  person  bearing 
this  name  lives  in  Missouri,  and  have  shown  that  twenty  citizens  of 
Douglas  County  never  heard  of  him  in  Kansas.  Is  this  legal  demon- 
stration? We  have  not  shown  that  some  man  bearing  this  name  posi- 
tively does  not  live  somewhere  in  the  county.  We  have  not  shown  that 
he  may  not  have  lived  here,  and  gone  East  for  his  family.  We  have 
not  and  never  can  show  that  he  was  not  here  on  the  day  prescribed  by 
the  law,  and  that  he  did  not  answer  every  requirement  of  that  law. 
When  we  multiply  this  case  by  two  thousand,  we  appreciate  somewhat 
the  nature  of  the  job  we  have  undertaken. 

"  Stanton — I  think,  Doctor,  you  magnify  all  the  difficulties  which 
stand  in  the  way  of  a  fair  election.  Concerning  the  submission  of  the 
Constitution  to  a  subsequent  vote  of  the  people,  I  would  say  that  it  is 
proposed  to  make  a  provision  of  this  sort,  and,  so  far  as  my  influence 
extends,  it  shall  be  exerted  to  bring  about  a  full  expression  of  the  popu- 
lar will  on  the  subject  of  the  domestic  institutions  of  the  Territory,  after 
the  work  of  the  convention  is  complete. 

Robinson — We  do  not  doubt  your  good  intentions,  Governor,  in 
this,  as  in  other  matters  ;  but  we  very  gravely  doubt  the  extent  of  your 
power.  Several  governors  of  Kansas  have  been  greatly  surprised  to 
find  how  short  a  distance  their  influence  extends.  I  believe  that  the 
right  of  calling  out  the  militia  has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  county 


350  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

sheriffs.     You  will  doubtless  regard  this  a  very  great  infringement  on 
the  privileges  of  the  Executive. 

"  Stanton — Oh,  you  must  be  mistaken.  No  Legislature,  no  sheriff, 
will  undertake  to  call  out  the  militia  while  I  hold  the  office  of  Governor. 
Ridiculous! 

"  McLean — But  they  will  when  the  occasion  comes.  It  was  found 
necessary  on  the  part  of  the  Legislature  to  reserve  this  right. 

"  Stanton — Reserve  !  No  such  right  ever  belonged  to  any  Legi>L. 
ture  under  the  sun.  Nonsense! 

'  McLean — Nonsense  or  not,  we  have  the  right  of  calling  out  mili- 
tia, and  intend  to  exercise  it  whenever  we  find  it  necessary ;  that's  all ! 

"  Stanton — Oh,  you  are  altogether  mistaken,  etc. 

"  I  need  not  follow  this  pleasant  little  expression  of  views  any  fur- 
ther. Our  party  adjourned  to  the  Cincinnati  House  and  listened  to 
Mr.  Stanton's  speech.  I  have  already  made  this  letter  longer  than  I 
had  intended.  The  conversation  above  reported  is  eminently  suggestive, 
and  I  think  speaks  for  itself.  If  it  should  meet  the  eyes  of  any  of  the 
participants,  they  will  recognize  its  correctness  in  all  essential  particu- 
lars ;  and  if  I  have  set  down  aught  in  malice,  I  trust  the  Tribune  will 
be  open  for  the  amplest  correction  to  the  injured  party.  Messrs.  Stan- 
ton  and  McLean  having  expressed  their  views  publicly  and  without  re- 
serve in  the  streets  of  Lawrence,  both  before  and  after  this  dialogue,  it 
will  not  be  deemed  any  breach  of  confidence  that  some  portion  of  those 
views  should  take  on  the  illumination  of  the  types. 

"  OCCIDENT." 

The  next  morning  after  Secretary  Stanton's  speech  at 
Lawrence,  several  citizens  presented  him  with  a  written  prop- 
osition, providing,  first,  "  that  two  persons  shall  be  selected 
in  each  township  or  district  to  correct  the  registry  list,  one 
by  the  pro-slavery  and  one  by  the  Free-State  party,  who 
shall  proceed  in  company  to  take  the  census  and  register  all 
legal  voters,  and  the  probate  judges  shall  correct  the  first 
lists,  and  the  apportionment  of  delegates  shall  be  made  ac- 
cording to  the  returns  thus  made. 

"  Second,  four  judges  shall  be  selected  for  each  voting  pre- 
cinct, two  of  the  pro-slavery  and  two  of  the  Free-State  party, 
and  the  names  of  three  of  said  judges  shall  be  required  for 
a  valid  certificate  of  election  to  a  seat  in  the  convention." 
To  this  proposition  Mr.  Stanton  made  a  lengthy  reply,  dis- 
claiming any  power  over  the  probate  judges  and  judges  of 


ARRIVAL    OF    GOVERNOR    WALKER.  351 

election.  He,  however,  said,  if  left  to  him,  he  would  ap- 
point one  Free-State  National  Democrat,  one  pro-slavery 
National  Democrat,  and  one  Republican.  This  was  fair 
enough  so  far  as  judges  were  concerned,  but  even  this 
power  he  could  not  exercise,  and  hence  the  Free-State  men 
wholly  ignored  the  election. 

Governor  Walker  reached  Kansas  in  May,  stopping  at 
Leavenworth,  where,  instead  of  a  speech,  he  had  $250 
worth  of  liquors  distributed  among  the  people  in  the  street. 
He  visited  Lawrence  on  the  26th,  and  attended  a  meeting 
in  company  with  Senator  Henry  Wilson,  Rev.  John  Pierpont 
and  Dr.  Samuel  Howe  of  Massachusetts.  He  pledged  the 
enforcement  of  the  territorial  laws,  but  said  the  Lecompton 
Constitution  when  framed  should  be  submitted  to  a  fair  vote 
of  the  people  for  adoption  or  rejection.  The  meeting  was 
held  in  the  Unitarian  church,  and  continued  till  a  late  hour, 
Judge  Conway  presiding.  Besides  the  Governor,  Henry 
Wilson,  Dr.  Pierpont,  Daniel  Foster,  Conway,  Phillips,  and 
Robinson  were  called  out.  The  provisions  for  the  election 
for  the  delegates  to  the  Lecompton  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion were  dwelt  upon  at  length,  and  Governor  Walker  had 
an  opportunity  to  learn  something  of  that  matter,  as  well  as 
of  the  spirit  of  the  people. 

Governor  Walker  issued  a  lengthy  address  to  the  people, 
which,  as  usual  with  such  documents  in  Kansas,  gave  satis- 
faction to  neither  party.  The  Free-State  men  were  disgusted 
with  his  threats  to  enforce  the  territorial  usurpation,  and  he 
gave  too  many  promises  of  fairness  to  the  "  rebels  "  to  suit 
the  Slave-State  party.  The  Richmond  South  is  a  sample  of 
Southern  criticism.  It  says: 

"  We  intend  no  imputation  upon  the  Democracy  when  we  affirm 
that,  with  individual  exceptions,  all  parties  in  the  North  desire  the  ad- 
mission of  Kansas  as  a  free  State.  It  is  morally  impossible  to  hope  for 
any  other  result. 

"  But  we  do  reproach  and  denounce  the  Hon.  Robert  J.  Walker, 
for  that,  being  the  chief  Executive  Magistrate  in  the  Territory,  and 
bound  by  every  consideration  of  honor  and  duty  to  observe  a  strict 


352  THK     KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

neutrality  between  the  contending  interests,  he  openly  allies  himself 
with  the  anti-slavery  faction,  antl  employs  all  the  influence  of  his  posi- 
tion to  deliver  Kansas  into  the  power  of  the  Free-State  party. 

"  Do  we  accuse  him  unjustly?  Not  unless  it  be  impossible  to  con- 
vict him  of  the  charge  on  the  evidence  of  his  own  official  declarations. 
No  candid  person  can  read  his  inaugural  address  and  resist  the  conclu- 
sion that  he  goes  out  to  Kansas  with  the  deliberate  design  of  wresting 
the  Territory  from  the  power  of  the  South.  It  is  idle  to  answer  that 
his  policy  is  opposed  by  the  Black  Republican  party.  The  struggle 
between  Walker  and  Robinson  is  not  upon  the  issue  of  slavery  or  no 
slavery  ;  it  is  a  competition  for  the  glory  of  converting  Kansas  into  a 
free  State.  Of  course  the  Black  Republicans  will  fight  any  plan  which 
threatens  to  rob  them  of  the  conquest. 

"  Under  any  circumstances,  the  loss  of  Kansas  would  be  a  grievous 
calamity  for  the  South;  but  to  have  it  snatched  from  our  grasp  by  the 
stealthy  manipulation  of  a  politician  who  affects  a  frank  and  honest  pur- 
pose is  an  insult  and  a  wrong  which  we  cannot  bear  with  patience." 

The  State  Legislature  met  on  the  Qth  of  June,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  adjournment  from  its  regular  session  in  Janu- 
ary, and  with  the  Legislature  came  a  mass  meeting  of  the 
citizens.  As  the  Government  would  expire  with  this  Legis- 
lature unless  an  election  law  should  be  enacted  and  an  elec- 
tion held  for  State  officers  and  members  of  a  new  Legis- 
lature, unusual  efforts  were  made  to  induce  the  members  to 
attend  the  session.  A  circular  letter,  signed  by  many  lead- 
ing citizens,  was  sent  to  all  the  members  of  the  Senate  and 
House,  urging  them  to  be  present.  But  when  the  day  ar- 
rived no  quorum  appeared.  It  required  much  skill  to  get  a 
quorum,  and  no  legal  quorum  could  be  secured  by  any  de- 
vice known  to  parliamentary  proceedings.  Members  were 
sent  for  in  hot  haste,  but  still  no  quorum.  As  Governor 
Walker  was  watching  with  eagle  eye,  and  ardently  praying 
for  the  Topeka  Government  to  fail,  it  was  deemed  important 
that  the  real  condition  should  be  kept  from  his  knowledge. 
It  was  thought  that  if  Governor  Walker  could  be  made  to 
believe  that  the  Topeka  Government  was  in  a  condition  to 
become  a  live  Government,  should  he  fail  to  give  the  people 
a  fair  election,  either  for  or  against  the  Lecompton  Consti- 


STATE    LEGISLATURE.  353 

tution,  or  for  a  Territorial  Legislature,  he  would  be  more 
likely  to  do  his  duty  regarding  those  elections.  Enough  had 
been  learned  of  the  Governor  to  know  that  he  feared  nothing 
so  much  as  this  Topeka  State  Government.  Hence  he  must 
be  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  strait  to  which  it  was  reduced. 
Among  the  devices  resorted  to  in  order  to  procure  a  quorum, 
was  providing  impromptu  elections.  William  A.  Phillips 
was  thus  elected  to  the  House  to  fill  a  vacancy.  William 
Hutchinson  was  sent  to  Douglas  County  to  secure  the  at- 
tendance of  Senator  B.  W.  Miller.  When  he  found  the 
senator  had  just  died,  he  called  an  election  immediately, 
returned  to  Topeka  the  next  day,  and  was  duly  sworn  in  as 
senator.  In  this  way,  and  by  declaring  several  vacancies, 
a  nominal  quorum  was  secured.  Steps  were  taken  to  com- 
plete the  organization  of  the  Government,  by  providing  for 
taking  the  census,  making  an  apportionment,  and  for  an 
election  of  State  officers  and  a  Legislature,  to  be  held  on 
the  first  Monday  in  August. 

The  promises  of  Walker  and  Stanton  that  the  territorial 
ballqt-boxes  should  be  restored  to  the  people  had  produced 
a  marked  effect  upon  the  Free-State  men ;  and  being  tired 
of  living  without  law,  and  having  but  little  hope  of  relief 
through  admission  to  the  Union  under  the  Topeka  Constitu- 
tion, many  were  ready  to  make  an  effort  to  get  possession 
of  the  Territorial  Legislature  at  the  election  to  be  held  in 
October,  and  were  accordingly  indifferent  to  the  fate  of  the 
State  Government.  Senator  Douglas  had  exposed  the  ma- 
nipulations of  Lane  to  such  an  extent,  convicting  him  of 
lying  and  forgery  with  reference  to  the  Topeka  Constitution, 
that  even  Republican  senators  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  that  document ;  and  Free-State  men  well  posted  had 
no  hope  of  admission  to  the  Union  under  it,  although  it  had 
passed  the  House  of  Representatives.  Notwithstanding  all 
this,  some  men  were  loud  in  their  demands  that  this  Govern- 
ment should  be  set  in  motion  at  all  hazards.  Perhaps  the 
most  bitter  enemies  Robinson  ever  had  he  made  by  de- 
23 


354  THK    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

claring  such  a  move  to  be,  under  the  circumstances,  in- 
sane. 

The  taking  of  the  census  had  a  double  purpose :  one  was 
to  answer  the  demand  of  the  Constitution  that  an  apportion- 
ment for  members  of  the  Legislature  might  be  made,  and 
another  that  proof  might  be  furnished  of  illegal  voting  at  the 
territorial  election,  which  was  to  be  held  without  an  accu- 
rate census.  Senator  Wilson  appreciated  the  importance  of 
this  census,  and  promised  Robinson  that  he  would  send  a 
man  with  sufficient  funds  to  defray  the  expenses.  Accord- 
ingly Hon.  T.  J.  Marsh,  ex -Treasurer  of  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, appeared  in  due  time  and  paid  all  the  census  bills, 
as  audited  and  approved  by  the  State  Governor. 

At  the  mass  convention,  held  at  the  time  of  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Legislature,  resolutions  were  adopted  repeating 
the  former  denunciations  of  the  territorial  usurpation  and 
strongly  adhering  to  the  Topeka  Constitution. 

Judge  Conway  dissented  from  the  report  of  the  committee 
on  resolutions,  and  offered  as  a  substitute  one  proposing, 
while  professedly  not  intending  to  resort  to  force,  that  the 
people  should  "  universally  accept  the  State  Government  as 
their  only  rightful  government."  That  they  "should  look 
to  it  exclusively  to  extend  protection  to  individual  rights  and 
regulate  the  relations  of  society  *  *  *  to  the  end  that 
the  aforesaid  government  shall  become  the  living  govern- 
ment of  the  community."  Also,  his  resolutions  contemplated 
the  enactment  of  laws  sufficient  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
people  in  every  department  of  life.  This  substitute  was  sup- 
ported by  Conway,  W.  A.  Phillips,  C.  F.  W.  Leonhardt,  and 
W.  F.  M.  Arney. 

It  was  not  adopted  by  the  convention.  The  people  had 
adopted  the  Topeka  Constitution  because  they  had  been  de- 
prived of  the  territorial  law-making  power  by  invasion  and 
fraud,  not  because  it  was  intrinsically  better  for  them  than 
that  form  of  government ;  and  now,  as  there  was  a  prospect 
of  recovering  what  had  been  stolen,  they  were  disposed  to 


FREE-STATE    CONVENTIONS.  355 

await  the  result  of  the  territorial  election  so  soon  to  be 
held.  In  fact,  there  was  no  alternative,  as  it  was  impossible 
to  procure  a  legal  quorum  of  the  Legislature  or  pass  a  legal 
enactment  of  any  kind.  All  did  not  know  this,  but  the  State 
Governor  knew  it,  and  his  aim  was  to  impress  upon  the  ter- 
ritorial Governor  the  importance  of  securing  to  the  people 
an  honest  election.  If  he  should  do  that  he  would  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  the  State  Government,  otherwise  there 
might  be  serious  trouble.  Robinson  had  satisfied  himself, 
by  frequent  interviews  and  otherwise,  that  Walker  and  Stan- 
ton  intended  to  act  in  good  faith  towards  the  people,  and  he 
was  disposed  to  throw  no  obstacle  in  their  way,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  give  them  what  aid  he  could  in  carrying  out  their 
pledges. 

Another  convention  was  held  at  Topeka,  July  isth  and 
1 6th,  of  which  General  Lane  was  chairman.  This  conven- 
tion adopted  substantially  the  same  resolutions  as  the  pre- 
vious one,  except  the  following : 

"  Whereas,  Governor  Walker,  in  his  speech  at  Topeka,  as  reported 
in  the  A'attsas  Statesman  of  June  gth,  holds  the  following  language : 
'  In  October  next,  not  under  the  act  of  the  late  Territorial  Legislature, 
but  under  the  laws  of  Congress,  you,  the  whole  people  of  Kansas, 
have  a  right  to  elect  a  delegate  to  Congress,  and  to  elect  a  Territorial 
Legislature ;  '  and 

"  Whereas,  Governor  Walker  has,  on  various  occasions,  used  simi- 
lar language ;  and 

"  Whereas,  Under  the  above  decision  '  the  whole  people  of  Kansas  ' 
may  participate  in  an  election  for  delegate  for  Congress  and  for  mem- 
bers of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  without  recognizing  the  validity  of 
a  bogus  Legislature,  imposed  upon  them  by  fraud  and  by  force ;  there- 
fore, 

' '  Resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  the  people  of  Kansas  that  they 
assemble  in  mass  convention  at  Grasshopper  Falls  on  the  last  Wednes- 
day in  August,  to  take  such  action  as  may  be  necessary  with  regard  to 
that  election." 

At  this  convention  M.  J.  Parrott  was  nominated  for  rep- 
resentative to  Congress. 

Judge  Conway  offered  this  resolution,  which  was  adopted : 


356  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  Whereas,  we  have  reliable  information  that  preparations  are  being 
made  in  some  parts  of  the  State  of  Missouri  to  control  the  result  of  the 
coming  elections  in  Kansas  ;  therefore  be  it 

"  Resolved,  That  General  James  H.  Lane  be  appointed  by  this  con- 
vention, and  authorized  to  organize  the  people  in  the  several  districts, 
to  protect  the  ballot-boxes  at  the  approaching  elections  in  Kansas." 

Of  course  there  was  no  "  reliable "  information  of  pro- 
posed interference  with  any  election  favored  by  Judge  Con- 
way  or  Lane,  as  both  these  gentlemen  opposed  taking  part 
in  the  territorial  election  of  a  Legislature,  and  no  Missou- 
rian  would  interfere  with  the  election  under  the  State 
auspices.  But  it  served  to  give  employment  to  Lane  and 
furnish  an  excuse  to  send  East  for  money,  which  was 
promptly  done,  two  messengers  being  sent  for  that  purpose. 
Had  both  Conway  and  Lane  favored  the  territorial  election, 
they  well  knew  that  no  Kansas  troops  outside  of  regular  mili- 
tia would  be  needed,  as  Governor  Walker  had  taken  upon 
himself  the  responsibility  for  that  election,  and  had  plenty  of 
United-  States  troops  to  protect  the  polls.  These  he  did 
station  at  some  places,  although  unnecessary,  as  no  invasion 
was  longer  needed.  The  pro-slavery  men  had  the  "return- 
ing boards,"  and  voters  from  Missouri  or  elsewhere  were 
unnecessary,  as  was  proven  when  the  returns  were  sent  in  to 
the  Governor. 

The  time  intervening  between  this  convention  of  the  i5th 
of  July  and  the  Grasshopper  Falls  Convention,  the  last 
Wednesday  in  August,  was  improved  by  Lane  and  Conway 
in  opposing  the  territorial  election,  but  without  avail.  WThen 
that  convention  met  it  was  nearly  a  unit  for  voting,  although 
Conway  made  a  speech  against  it.  Lane,  seeing  the  senti- 
ment, changed  front  and  favored  the  election,  although  op- 
posing it  in  committee. 

W.  A.  Phillips  offered  the  following  resolution,  which 
referred  to  the  committee,  but  never  acted  upon  by  the  con- 
vention : 

"Resolved,  That  should  any  power,  legislative  or  otherwise,  be 
obtained  by  any  force  of  Free-State  men,  or  Free- State  votes,  at  the 


GRASSHOPPER  FALLS  CONVENTION.         357 

proceeding  called  an  election  in  October  next,  this  convention  resolves 
that  such  power  shall  be  used  only  for  the  destruction  of  usurpation, 
that  a  territorial  Government  shall  not  be  perpetuated,  but  that  the 
Government  under  the  Topeka  Constitution  is  the  only  legitimate  Gov- 
ernment." 

Andreas,  in  his  "History,"  page  126,  says: 

"  Colonel  Lane,  who  at  the  Topeka  Convention  held  in  May  had 
declared  his  radical  opposition  to  any  participation  in  the  election,  had 
gradually  grown  reticent  and  considerate,  and  now  came  fully  over  to 
the  other  side." 

He  did  not  come  over,  however,  till  he  reached  the  con- 
vention, as,  on  his  way  there,  he  predicted  that  all  who 
favored  voting,  referring  to  Smith,  Robinson,  and  others, 
would  be  buried  so  deep  the  resurrection  would  fail  to  reach 
them. 

Andreas  further  says,  same  page  : 

"  Governor  'Robinson  denned  his  position,  which  had  doubtless  come 
to  be  that  of  a  large  majority  of  the  Free-State  party.  In  his  speech 
favoring  the  resolutions,  he  said :  '  We  started  out  on  the  Topeka  Con- 
stitution, and  I  shall  work  under  it ;  but  here  is  a  battery  all  the  time 
at  Lecompton  playing  upon  us.  Let  us  take  the  battery  and  use  it  for 
our  own  benefit,  without  defining  the  use  we  shall  put  it  to,  and  thus 
avoid  side  issues  in  every  county  in  the  Territory.  If  we  get  the  bat- 
tery and  spike  it  so  it  cannot  be  used  against  us,  we  shall  have  accom- 
plished a  purpose.  I  do  not  feel  that  there  will  be  any  backing  down 
in  doing  so.  I  am  more  hopeful  than  some,  and  not  quite  so  hopeful 
as  others ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  we  shall  be  triumphant.  From  the 
census  returns  I  am  satisfied  there  is  not  a  district  in  the  Territory  in 
which  we  have  not  a  large  majority  of  voters.  If  we  are  defeated  by 
fraud,  we  shall  be  in  a  position  to  show  up  the  fraud.  It  has  been  said 
that  I  was  always  opposed  to  this  movement.  Such  is  not  the  case.  I 
have  always  been  in  favor  of  voting  with  the  least  show  of  success  in 
our  favor." 

Parrott  was  nominated  for  territorial  delegate  to  Con- 
gress, and  comparative  harmony  in  the  ranks  was  secured. 

Lane's  military  exploits  during  the  summer  were  only 
eclipsed  by  Governor  Walker's  when  he  came  against  Law- 
rence with  his  United  States  troops.  He  made  a  great 


358  THK     KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

flourish  of  trumpets  and  assumed  airs  of  as  much  importance 
as  he  would  if  the  destiny  of  nations  depended  upon  his 
action.  As  this  was  to  be  a  war  without  an  enemy,  there 
would  be  no  danger  to  life  or  limb,  neither  would  "breast- 
works "  have  to  be  erected  on  the  Nebraska  line  to  cause 
frequent  visits  from  the  General-in-Chief.  E.  B.  Whitman 
and  J.  B.  Abbott  went  East  for  the  sinews  of  war,  but  from 
all  accounts  had  poor  success.  Unfortunately  for  the  suc- 
cess of  this  begging  expedition,  Senator  Wilson,  Horace 
White,  and  others  had  recently  visited  Kansas,  and  knew 
very  well  that  there  was  no  more  occasion  for  this  military 
demonstration  than  there  would  be  at  an  election  in  Massa- 
chusetts. 

In  Redpath's  "  Life  of  Brown,"  he  quotes  one  of  Brown's 
sons  as  saying,  September  30,  1857,  that  "  efforts  were  made 
to  raise  a  fund  to  send  cannon  and  arms  to  Lane ;  "  and 
adds  that  they  "  proved  a  failure."  Mr.  Whitman  reported 
poor  success  in  his  efforts.  But  the  most  farcical  of  all  is 
the  great  apparent  effort  to  get  John  Brown  with  his  two 
hundred  Sharp's  carbines  from  Tabor,  Iowa,  into  Kansas. 
As  is  now  well  known,  John  Brown  was  already  preparing 
for  his  Virginia  raid  ;  had  ordered  his  pikes,  sent  for  his  men, 
and  had  a  drill-master  already  at  work.  In  A.  Wattles'  testi- 
mony before  the  Senate  Harper's  Ferry  Investigating  Com- 
mittee, on  page  221,  is  a  letter  from  Brown  to  Wattles,  dated 
June  3,  1857,  in  which  he  says: 

"  There  are  some  half  dozen  men  I  want  a  visit  from  at  Tabor,  Iowa. 
to  come  off  in  the  most  quiet  war,  viz.  :  Daniel  Foster,  late  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts;  Holmes,  Frazer,  a  Mr.  Hill,  and  William  David,  on 
Little  Ottawa  Creek;  a  Mr.  Cochran,  on  Potawatomie  Creek;  or  I 
would  like  equally  well  to  see  Dr.  Updegraff  and  S.  H.  Wright  of 
Osawatomie;  or  William  Phillips,  or  Conway,  or  your  honor.  I  have 
some  very  important  matters  to  confer  with  some  of  you  about.  Let 
there  be  no  words  about  it." 

Colonel  Hugh  Forbes  was  engaged  by  Brown  in  March 
or  April,  1857,  to  drill  men  for  the  work  in  hand,  and,  ac- 


JOHN    BROWN    AND    TERRITORIAL    ELECTION.  359 

cording  to  Redpath's  "  Life  of  Brown,"  this  work  was  to  be 
in  Virginia  or  Maryland.  Besides,  in  a  letter  to  Wattles, 
dated  April  8,  1857,  Brown  writes,  "I  bless  God  that  He 
has  not  left  the  Free-State  men  of  Kansas  to  pollute  them- 
selves by  the  foul  and  loathsome  embrace  of  the  old  rotten 

."     This  old  monster  was  the  territorial  Government. 

Was  it  likely  a  man  with  such  sentiments  would  aid  in  an 
election  under  such  a  Government  ?  In  a  letter  to  E.  B. 
Whitman,  dated  October  5,  1857,  he  calls  this  election,  that 
Lane  was  proposing  to  protect,  "  bogus."  How  much  sin- 
cerity was  there  in  this  war  movement  ? 

Richard  Realf,  the  Secretary  of  State  of  John  Brown's 
new  Republic,  set  up  in  Canada,  and  moved  over  to  Harper's 
Ferry,  wrote  January  30,  1860,  as  follows  about  Brown's 
position : 

"  Nor  was  Brown  himself,  nor  any  of  his  coadjutors,  committed  to 
the  Republican  creed.  Henry  Wilson,  in  1857,  advised  that  party  to 
secure  the  Legislature  by  voting  under  the  laws  of  the  Territorial  Legis- 
lature. Not  one  of  Brown's  original  party  voted.  Some  of  us  were 
at  the  time  correspondents  of  the  Eastern  press,  and  in  the  interim  be- 
tween the  Grasshopper  Falls  convention,  at  which  it  was  decided  to 
vote,  and  the  day  of  election,  we  opposed  the  action  of  the  party  in 
every  possible  way,  by  letters,  speeches,  and  in  every  available  manner, 
for  which  we  were  denounced  as  abolitionists  by  the  leading  Republican 
journal  of  the  Territory." 

It  is  evident  from  the  correspondence  between  these  great 
"  Generals,"  Lane  and  Brown,  that  Lane  wanted  to  get  the 
arms  in  Brown's  possession  at  Tabor,  Iowa ;  and  Brown 
wanted  to  get  all  the  money  he  could  out  of  Whitman  and 
others  for  his  work  in  Virginia.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  let- 
ters which  follow  that  the  territorial  election  was  a  mere  pre- 
text, as  Lane  was  as  desirous  of  getting  the  munitions  of 
war  after  that  election  as  before.  The  pretense  that  Brown 
wanted  very  much  to  get  to  Kansas  is  in  keeping  with  his 
whole  career  while  preparing  for  his  Virginia  raid.  He  al- 
ways begged  for  money  and  supplies  on  a  pretense  of  want- 
ing them  for  Kansas,  while  he  intended  to  use  them  else- 


360  THE    KAXSAS    CONFLICT. 

where.     The  following  letters  were  exchanged  by  the  par- 
ties. 

From  J.  H.  Lane,  Lawrence,  September  7,  1857,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"SlR:  We  are  earnestly  engaged  in  perfecting  an  organization  for 
the  protection  of  the  ballot-box  at  the  October  election  (first  Monday). 
Whitman  and  Abbott  have  been  East  after  money  and  arms  for  a  month 
past.  They  write  encouragingly,  and  will  be  back  in  a  few  days.  We 
want  all  the  materials  you  have.  I  see  no  objection  to  your  coming  to 
Kansas  publicly.  I  can  furnish  you  just  such  a  force  as  you  may  deem 
necessary  for  your  protection  here,  and  after  your  arrival.  I  went  up 
to  see  you,  but  failed. 

"  Now  what  is  wanted  is  this — write  me  concisely  what  transporta- 
tion you  require,  how  much  money,  and  the  number  of  men  to  escort 
you  into  the  Territory  safely,  and  if  you  desire  it  I  would  come  up  with 
them. 

"  Yours  respectfully, 

"J.  H.  LANE. 

"To  Captain  John  Brown,  Tabor,  Iowa." 

"  TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  September  16,  1857. 
"  General  J.  H.  Lane: 

"  MY  DEAR  SlR:  Your  favor  of  the  7th  instant  is  received.  I  had 
previously  written  to  you  expressive  of  my  strong  desire  to  see  you.  I 
suppose  you  have  my  letter  before  this.  As  to  the  job  of  work  you  in- 
quire about,  I  suppose  that  three  good  teams,  with  well-covered  wagons, 
and  ten  really  ingenious,  industrious  men  (not  gassy),  with  about  $150 
in  cash,  could  bring  it  about  in  the  course  of  eight  or  ten  days. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  friend, 

"Jon.\  BROWN." 

"  FALLS  CITY,  NEBRASKA,  September  29,  1857. 
"DEAR  GENERAL:  T  send  you  Mr.  Jamison,  Quartermaster-Gen- 
eral, Second  Division,  to  assist  you  in  getting  your  articles  into  Kansas 
in  time.  Mr.  Whitman  wrote  us  he  would  be  at  Wyandotte  yesterday, 
one  week  ago — that  he  was  supplied  with  the  things — but  he  had  not 
arrived  when  I  left.  It  is  all  important  to  Kansas  that  your  things 
should  be  in  at  the  earliest  possible  moment — that  you  should  be  much 
nearer  at  hand  than  you  are.  I  send  you  all  the  money  I  have,  $50, 
and  General  Jamison  has  some  more.  We  want  every  gun,  and  all  the 
ammunition.  I  do  not  know  that  we  will  have  to  use  them,  but  I  do 


CORRESPONDENCE  OF  LANE  AND  BROWN.      361 

know  we  should  be  prepared.     I  send  you  ten  true  men.     You  can  rely 

upon  General .     What  he  tells  you  comes  from  me. 

"  Yours  ever, 

"J.  H.  LANE. 
"To  General  John  Brown,  Tabor,  Iowa." 

"  TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  September  30,  1857. 
' '  Genera/  James  H.  Lane : 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR:  Your  favor  from  Falls  City  by  Mr.  Jamison  is 
just  received,  also  $50  sent  by  him,  which  I  also  return  by  same  hand, 
as  I  findyt  will  be  next  to  impossible  in  my  poor  state  of  health  to  go 
through  on  such  short  notice,  four  days  only  remaining  to  get  ready, 
load  up,  and  go  through.  I  think,  considering  all  the  uncertainties  of 
the  case,  want  of  teams,  etc.,  that  I  should  do  wrong  to  set  out.  I  am 
disappointed  in  the  extreme. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  friend, 

"  JOHN  BROWN." 

"TABOR,  IOWA,  October  5,  1857. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR:  Please  send  me,  by  Mr.  Charles  P.  Tidd,  what 
money  you  have  lor  me,  not  paper.  He  is  the  second  man  I  have  sent 
in  order  to  get  the  means  of  taking  me  through.  General  Lane  sent  a 
man  who  got  here  without  any  team,  with  but  fifty  dollars  of  Lane's 
money,  as  he  said,  which  I  returned  to  him,  and  wanted  me  to  start 
right  off,  with  only  four  days'  time  to  load  up  and  drive  through  before 
this  bogus  election  day,  which  my  state  of  health  and  the  very  wet 
weather  rendered  it  impossible  to  do  in  time,  and  I  did  not  think  it 
right  to  start  from  here  under  such  circumstances.  Do  try  to  make  me 
up  the  money  all  in  good  shape  before  Mr.  Tidd  returns,  and  also  write 
me  everything  you  know  about  the  aspect  of  things  in  Kansas.  Please 
furnish  Mr.  Tidd  with  a  horse  to  take  him  to  Osawatomie,  and  greatly 
oblige  me.  The  fifty  dollars  Lane  sent  was  only  about  enough  to  pay 
up  my  board  bill  here,  with  all  I  had  on  hand.  I  need  not  say  my  dis- 
appointments have  been  extreme.  Your  friend, 

"  JOHN  BROWN. 

"To  E.  B.   Whitman." 

"  P.S. — Before  any  teams  are  now  sent  I  want  to  hear  further  from 
Kansas.  Yours  respectfully, 

"  JOHN  BROWN." 

From  E.  B.  Whitman,  dated  Lawrence,  October  24,  1857, 
and  indorsed  as  having  been  received  at  Tabor,  November 
ist,  as  follows: 


362  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"MY  DEAR  FRIEND:  Your  two  first  messengers  are  sick  at  Tecum- 
seh.  I  helped  them  to  start  back,  with  the  information  that  you  should 
soon  hear  from  me,  but  they  were  taken  sick  on  their  way.  Mr.  Tidd 
has  been  waiting  some  time  for  me  to  receive  remittances  from  the  East, 
but  as  the  crisis  approaches  I  feel  in  a  hurry  to  get  him  off.  You  are 
wanted  here  a  week  from  Tuesday.  I  will  wait  no  longer,  but  have 
raised  on  my  personal  responsibility  $150.  General  Lane  will  send 
teams  from  Falls  City,  so  that  you  may  get  your  guns  all  in.  Leave 
none  behind  if  you  can  help  it.  Come  direct  to  this  place.  See  me  be- 
fore you  make  any  disposition  of  your  plunder,  except  to  keep  it  safe. 
Make  the  Tabor  people  wait  for  what  you  owe  them.  TJ»ey  must. 
Make  the  money  I  send  answer  to  get  here,  and  I  hope  by  that  time  to 
have  more  for  you.  Mr.  Tidd  will  explain  all. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"  E.   B.  WHITMAN." 

From  J.  H.  Lane,  Falls  City,  October  30,  1857,  as  follows  : 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  By  great  sacrifice  we  have  raised  and  send  you  by  Dr. 
Tidd  $150.  I  trust  this  money  will  be  used  to  get  the  guns  to  Kansas, 
or  as  near  as  possible.  If  you  will  get  them  to  this  point,  we  will  try 
to  get  them  on  in  some  way.  The  probability  is  Kansas  will  never 
need  the  guns.  One  thing  is  certain,  if  they  are  to  do  her  any  good,  it 
will  be  in  the  next  few  days.  Let  nothing  interfere  in  bringing  them 
on.  Yours, 

"J.  H.  LANE." 

The  last  letters  of  Lane  and  Whitman  were  after  the  elec- 
tion, and  yet  they  are  as  urgent  for  the  arms  as  any  before 
that  event. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Lane  was  at  Falls  City,  Nebraska,  on 
September  2Qth,  six  days  before  the  election,  and  must  have 
taken  a  deep  interest  in  that  event.  Also  he  was  in  Ne- 
braska October  3oth.  Whether  the  fortifications  he  threw 
up  along  the  territorial  line  in  1856  needed  repairing,  or 
new  ones  had  to  be  made,  does  not  appear. 

While  this  correspondence  was  in  progress  between  "  Gen- 
eral "  Lane  and  "  General  "  Brown,  the  election  of  the  Terri- 
torial Legislature  came  off.  There  was  no  invasion  or  illegal 
voting  of  consequence,  but  illegal  returns  were  made.  The 
small  village  of  Kickapoo  sent  in  500  votes ;  McGee  County, 


OXFORD    FRAUD.  363 

where  there  were  no  legal  voters,  returned  over  1200  votes; 
ami  Oxford,  a  hamlet  of  six  houses  on  the  east  line  of  the 
Territory,  sent  up  1628  votes.  These  fictitious  returns  would, 
if  counted,  give  the  Legislature  to  the  pro-slavery  party. 
What  would  be  done  ?  All  parties  had  accepted  the  pledge 
of  Governor  Walker  that  no  fraud  should  be  tolerated,  and 
now  all  parties  demanded  the  fulfilment  of  his  pledges. 
That  he  would  be  inclined  to  favor  his  own  party  and  re- 
cover the  confidence  of  the  South  which  his  inaugural  had 
k>st.  him  seemed  likely.  Besides,  he  had  become  exceedingly 
bitter  on  account  of  the  opposition  and  ridicule  of  Free- 
State  orators  and  papers.  There  was  apparent  hesitation  as 
to  his  course,  and  he  was  waited  upon  by  all  parties  with 
demands  for  prompt  and  decisive  action.  The  conserva- 
tives, especially,  would  brook  no  shortcoming.  G  W. 
Brown,  editor  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  had  defended  the 
Governor  in  his  paper  till  now,  and  he  waited  upon  Gov- 
ernor Walker  in  his  office  and  warned  him  that  if  he  faltered 
in  his  duty  now  his  paper  would  henceforth  join  the  cry 
against  him. 

The  Governor  of  the  State  organization,  who  had  relied  upon 
personal  as  well  as  public  pledges,  and  had  discouraged  radi 
cal  measures  on  account  of  these  pledges,  gave  notice  that 
should  the  territorial  Governor  fail  to  do  his  whole  duty  there 
would  henceforth  be  no  conservative  party  in  Kansas,  and 
the  machinery  of  the  State  Government  might  be  put  in 
order  at  once.  Governor  Walker  was  so  afraid  this  would 
be  done  during  the  summer  that  he  had  brought  the  United 
States  troops  to  Lawrence  because  that  town  had  organized 
for  mutual  assistance  in  preserving  order,  abating  nuisances, 
and  the  like.  His  excuse  was,  that  should  all  the  towns  of 
the  Territory  thus  organize  independently  of  the  territorial 
Government,  it  would  become  supplanted  entirely,  and  the 
State  Government  would  be  established  instead.  All  this 
had  been  argued  at  the  convention  in  June  at  Topeka  by 
Conway,  Phillips,  Arney,  and  others.  In  fact  it  was  a  most 


364  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

simple  process,  that  all  could  understand,  and  it  was  held  in 
abeyance  solely  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  friction,  and  be- 
cause Governor  Walker  had  assured  the  people  they  should 
have  their  rights  through  this  territorial  election. 

Governor  Walker  and  Secretary  Stanton — although  they 
found  sufficient  cause  for  rejecting  the  returns  from  Oxford 
on  their  face,  as  there  was  no  evidence  the  judges  of  elec- 
tion took  the  prescribed  oath,  or  that  the  paper  was  one  of 
the  two  poll-lists  required  by  law — chose  to  visit  Oxford 
that  they  might  learn  from  personal  inspection  the  number 
of  actual  voters  in  the  neighborhood  or  county.  They  be- 
came satisfied  the  returns  were  simulated  and  fictitious,  and 
like  honorable  men  refused  to  count  the  Oxford  vote.  This 
was  one  of  the  most  important  acts  in  the  whole  struggle. 
Had  this  Oxford  vote  been  counted,  the  Legislature  would 
have  been  given  to  the  Slave-State  men,  and  no  power  on 
earth  could  have  quieted  the  people.  They  had  submitted 
to  the  invasion  of  the  joth  of  March,  1855,  simply  because 
they  were  few  in  number,  unarmed  and  unorganized.  Be- 
sides, the  Free-State  majority  at  that  time  was  small ;  but 
now  that  majority  was  as  twenty  to  one,  as  estimated  by  the 
Herald  of  Freedom,  after  taking  the  State  census,  and  the 
people  were  comparatively  well  armed.  While  the  Federal 
Government  might,  and  probably  would,  have  broken  down 
a  formal  State  Government,  the  people  could  and  would 
have  made  it  impossible  for  any  usurpation  to  occupy  the 
soil  of  Kansas.  The  result  might  have  been  no  active  gov- 
ernment from  any  source,  but  the  Free-State  men  could 
afford  to  occupy  that  position  as  long  as  the  Federal  Ad- 
ministration could  afford  to  have  them. 

Should  a  President  of  the  United  States  be  elected  by  the 
people  and  have  but  one  majority,  every  member  of  his 
party  would  claim  that  the  election  was  due  to  his  vote, 
and  the  spoils  would  be  demanded  accordingly.  So  in  this 
case,  every  Free-State  man  in  Kansas  was  loud  in  his  de- 
mands for  an  honest  count,  and  there  were  dire  threatenings 


WHY    OXFORD    WAS    REJECTED.  365 

from  every  quarter ;  and  many  are  the  persons  who  claim 
to  have  influenced  the  Governor  to  do  his  duty.  The 
friends  of  Lane  claim  that,  while  he  did  not  go  near  the 
Governor,  it  was  his  pawing  the  earth,  beating  the  air  and 
bellowing,  as  usual,  like  a  bull  of  Bashan,  that  frightened  the 
Governor.  Prominent  men  like  Colonel  Eldridge,  Deitzler, 
Allen,  Duncans,  and  other  conservative  men,  were  active 
and  influential ;  G.  W.  Brown,  also,  was  in  a  position  to 
bring  a  stronger  influence  than  any  other  single  man ;  and 
the  radicals  who  were  clamorous  for  setting  the  State  Gov- 
ernment in  operation  regardless  of  consequences  had  their 
influence.  But,  giving  full  credit  to  all  parties,  individually 
and  collectively,  the  "old  blood-stained  banner,"  the  Topeka 
Government,  was  indispensable.  As  has  been  said,  the  Ad- 
ministration hated  this  movement  with  a  perfect  hatred,  as 
any  settlement  of  the  difficulties  through  this  instrumentality 
would  be  a  political  defeat  and  humiliation  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  Any  other  way  out  might  be  tolerated,  but 
this  never.  Governor  Walker  saw  clearly  -that  there  were 
men  enough,  and  brains  enough,  in  the  State  movement  to 
"  thwart,  baffle,  and  circumvent "  till  the  Democratic  party 
should  be  utterly  ruined,  if  he  did  not  redeem  his  pledges 
relative  to  this  territorial  election.  That  it  was  the  State 
movement  he  feared  is  evident  from  his  proclamation  throw- 
ing out  the  Oxford  votes.  After  giving  his  argument  against 
the  votes  he  says  : 

"  In  view  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Kansas  for  several  years  past, 
of  the  efforts  so  long  made  to  put  in  operation  here  a  revolutionary 
government,  and  of  the  facts  that  this  effort  was  suspended  under  the 
belief  that  the  political  difficulties  of  this  Territory  might  at  length  be 
fairly  adjusted  at  the  polls ;  if  that  adjustment  should  now  be  defeated 
and  the  people  deprived  of  their  rightful  power  under  the  laws  of  Con- 
gress by  fictitious  returns  of  votes  never  given,  it  is  our  solemn  con- 
viction that  the  pacification  of  Kansas  through  the  exercise  of  the 
elective  franchise  would  become  impracticable,  and  that  civil  war  would 
immediately  be  recommenced  in  this  Territory,  extending,  we  fear,  to 
adjacent  States  and  subjecting  the  Government  of  the  Union  to  immi- 
nent peril." 


366  THK     KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

At  an  Old  Settler's  meeting  at  Bismarck  Grove,  Septem- 
ber 2,  1884,  Hon.  F.  P.  Stanton  in  his  speech  said : 

"  Very  soon  after  he  came  to  the  Territory,  Governor  Walker  went 
out  among  the  people  and  made  addresses  in  several  places,  in  which 
he  urged  the  abandonment  of  the  Topeka  movement,  and  earnestly  solic- 
ited them  to  go  to  the  polls  in  the  October  elections  and  assert  their 
supremacy  in  the  State  Constitution.  President  Buchanan  was  pledged 
to  the  policy  of  submitting  the  Constitution  to  the  vote  of  the  people  for 
ratification  or  rejection.  Governor  Walker  did  not  hesitate  to  promise 
all  his  influence  in  favor  of  the  same  policy,  and  solemnly  pledged  him- 
self to  oppose  any  constitution  not  so  submitted.  At  the  Free-State 
Convention  at  Topeka,  on  the  gth  of  June,  1857,  being  called  out  by 
the  people  at  his  lodgings  there,  he  gave  these  assurances  in  the  most 
solemn  and  explicit  manner,  at  the  same  time  repeating  his  declaration 
that  the  territorial  Government,  with  the  aid  of  the  army  of  the  United 
States,  if  necessary,  would  maintain  peace  at  the  polls,  secure  a  full  op- 
portunity for  every  citizen  to  vote,  and  prevent  and  repudiate  every  fraud 
or  wrong  which  it  was  possible  to  resist  or  remedy  by  the  executive 
authority. 

"  I  was  not  in  the  counsels  of  the  Free-State  party,  and  knew  their 
designs  only  through  their  public  avowals.  It  was  well  understood,  I 
believe,  that  they  were  divided  in  opinion.  One  party  in  the  conven- 
tion, under  the  lead  of  General  J.  H.  Lane,  was  in  favor  of  extreme  and 
violent  measures,  and  proposed  to  put  the  Topeka  Government  into  im- 
mediate operation ;  the  other  was  understood  to  be  headed  by  Governor 
Charles  Robinson,  and  to  advise  a  more  moderate  and  rational  line  of 
policy,  being  willing  so  far  to  confide  in  our  pledges  as  to  try  their 
strength  at  the  polls  in  the  October  elections.  There  was  a  bitter  con- 
test between  these  two  sections  of  the  Free-State  party,  and,  according 
to  our  information,  there  was  imminent  danger  that  the  Lane  party 
would  prevail.  Such  at  least  were  the  intimations  given  out  to  the 
public,  and  I  had  no  doubt  at  the  time  that  they  were  substantially 
true ;  but  if  they  were  not,  then  it  remains  for  those  who  were  inside 
the  Free-State  movement  to  show  that  these  public  outgivings  were  not 
sincere,  and  to  explain  the  real  intentions  of  the  parties  concerned. 

"  But,  at  any  rate,  eventually  the  counsels  of  the  moderate  men  pre- 
vailed. The  extremists  were  withheld  from  the  execution  of  their  dan- 
gerous designs,  and  the  masses  of  the  Free-State  party  were  induced  to 
participate  in  the  October  elections,  and  thus  to  get  legal  control  of  the 
territorial  Government,  instead  of  embarking  in  a  rebellion  against  the 
United  States.  What  was  the  result  of  this  policy  of  wisdom  and  mod- 
eration, I  have  already  shown.  By  the  rejection  of-  the  Oxford  frauds 
the  majority  of  the  people  were  installed  in  their  rightful  supremacy  in 


HON.  F.  P.  STANTON'S  STATEMENT.  367 

the  Territory.  By  the  election  of  the  4th  of  January,  authorized  by  the 
law  passed  at  the  extra  session  of  the  Legislature,  you  demonstrated 
that  the  Lecompton  Constitution  was  not  the  creation  of  the  people. 
You  passed  laws  to  punish  frauds  and  false  returns  at  the  elections,  and 
thereby  drove  from  the  Territory  John  Calhoun  and  his  dishonest  coad- 
jutors, who  had  sought  to  pollute  the  sources  of  political  power  and  to 
maintain  the  usurpations  of  a  corrupt  minority.  You  placed  Mr. 
Buchanan  and  his  Administration,  and  all  those  Democrats  who  sup- 
ported them,  in  the  wrong.  And  thus  placing  them  in  the  wrong  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  the  whole  world,  you  were  enabled  to  defeat  them  and 
break  them  up.  And  finally,  you  had  the  great  triumph  of  establishing 
your  own  Topeka  Constitution,  substantially,  according  to  your  own  will. 

"  Now,  suppose  that  different  counsels  had  prevailed  at  Topeka  in 
the  summer  of  1857 — Suppose  the  extreme  men  had  succeeded  in  per- 
suading the  majority  to  set  up  the  Topeka  State  Government  in  rebellion 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  Instead  of  placing  Mr. 
Buchanan  in  the  wrong,  you  would  have  been  in  the  wrong  yourselves. 
Instead  of  dividing  the  Democratic  party  on  the  Lecompton  question 
and  finally  breaking  them  to  pieces,  you  would  have  consolidated  them 
on  the  question  of  sustaining  the  Federal  Government,  in  support  of 
the  laws,  against  its  rebellious  citizens.  In  the  midst  of  conflict  and 
civil  war,  there  would  probably  have  been  no  frauds  at  Oxford  and  no 
exposure  of  the  methods  adopted  by  your  opponents,  because  violence 
would  have  taken  the  place  of  fraud,  and  that  violence  justified  by  your 
own  fatal  example.  It  is  impossible  to  conjecture  exactly  what  would 
have  been  the  course  of  events.  But  the  whole  history  of  the  Territory 
would  have  been  altered  and  its  destiny  materially  modified.  The  Le- 
compton Constitution  would  probably  have  been  adopted,  and  Mr. 
Buchanan  succeeded  by  another  Democratic  President.  In  the  course 
of  time  you  would,  no  doubt,  have  moulded  the  Constitution  to  the  will 
of  the  majority ;  but  the  obstacles  would  have  been  great  and  your 
progress,  would  have  been  slow  and  with  feeble  paces  compared  to  those 
rapid  strides  by  which  you  have  reached  your  present  magnificent  posi- 
tion. I  do  not  for  a  moment  suppose  that  slavery  could  have  been  very 
long  continued  under  any  circumstances  ;  but  the  process  of  destroying 
it  might  have  been  much  more  prolonged  and  difficult,  and  your  impli- 
cation in  it  might  have  been  much  more  disastrous  and  destructive  to 
all  your  interests. 

"Allow  me  to  say  here,  that,  in  my  judgment,  Governor  Walker  has 
never  received  the  full  measure  of  applause  which  he  deserved  for  his 
efforts  to  conciliate  the  people,  and  his  success  in  bringing  them  to  a 
trial  of  their  strength  in  the  territorial  elections.  This  was  the  true 
exodus  out  of  the  wilderness  of  your  troubles.  It  was  the  policy  of 
true  wisdom  and  exalted  patriotism.  You  met  him  half  way,  and  not- 


368  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

withstanding  his  forced  resignation  as  Governor,  this  policy  which  he 
had  inaugurated  was  carried  out  successfully,  and  triumphed  in  the  end. 

"  Mr.  Elaine,  in  his  recent  history  of  '  Twenty  Years  in  Congress,' 
sums  up  the  result  of  Governor  Walker's  administration  in  Kansas  with 
the  simple  but  emphatic  declaration  that  he  'failed.'  But,  I  must  insist, 
it  was  no  failure.  Mr.  Buchanan  deserted  him,  and  left  him  the  alter- 
native of  coming  back  here  to  be  dismissed,  as  I  was,  or  of  resigning 
the  position  which  he  could  no  longer  hold  with  honor.  But,  in  spite 
of  all  this,  by  your  co-operation  and  the  wise  course  of  moderation 
which  you  pursued,  he  had  prepared  the  way  for  that  result  which 
brought  merited  rebuke  to  Mr.  Buchanan  and  defeat  to  the  bad  schemes 
he  sought  to  promote.  The  failure  was  Buchanan's,  and  not  Walker's. 
The  triumph  was  yours  ;  but  you  will  not  fail  to  do  liberal  justice  to  the 
memory  of  the  man  who  was  the  author  of  the  policy  which  finally  pre- 
vailed, but  who  was  not  permitted  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  patriotic 
exertions.  It  was  his  fortune,  as  it  was  mine,  to  stand  on  the  eminence 
of  truth  and  right  from  which  he  could  see  the  promised  land ;  but  that 
was  all. 

"  You  alone,  ye  men  of  iron,  worthy  fathers  of  this  great  State, 
pioneers  and  heroes  in  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls,  you  alone  had 
the  privilege  of  crossing  the  Jordan  that  intervened,  and  entering  this 
goodly  land  of  liberty.  May  it  continue  forever  to  blossom  like  the 
rose,  and  may  it  never  cease  to  flow  with  milk  and  honey." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LECOMPTON   CONSTITUTION. LEAVENWORTH    CONSTITUTION. 

ULTRA    RADICALS. 

WHEN  the  Territorial  Legislature  was  secured,  the  prin- 
cipal battery  of  the  enemy  had  been  captured  and  they  had 
but  one  hope  left,  namely,  to  get  admitted  to  the  Union 
under  the  Lecompton  Constitution.  How  should  that  hope 
be  frustrated  f  The  convention  for  drafting  their  constitu- 
tion had  adjourned  from  September  )th  till  October  igth. 
One  party,  the  voting  party,  said,  let  the  convention  meet, 
as  it  had  a  right  to  do,  and  adopt  a  constitution,  and  then 
vote  the  constitution  down.  If,  as  was  feared,  no  fair  op- 
portunity were  given  for  such  vote  by  the  convention,  then 
let  the  Legislature  provide  the  opportunity,  which  it  would 
have  the  power  and  disposition  to  do,  either  at  a  called  ses- 
sion by  the  acting  governor  or  at  the  regular  session  on  the 
4th  of  January,  1858.  Another  party,  headed  by  Lane, 
said  make  war  upon  the  convention  and  prevent  the  making 
of  the  constitution.  Possibly  this  was  in  contemplation  by 
Conway  when  he  presented  his  resolution  to  the  convention 
in  July.  And  this  may  also  explain  the  urgent  request  to 
"  General "  John  Brown  at  Tabor  before  and  after  the  ter- 
ritorial election.  Be  this  as  it  may,  as  the  time  approached 
for  the  meeting  of  the  convention,  Lane  took  the  war-path 
and  gathered  his  forces.  This  was  done  under  cover,  and 
probably  in  the  main  through  the  secret  order  of  Danites,  as 
but  few,  if  any,  knew  of  his  movements  outside  of  the  order 
till  he  was  ready  to  strike  his  blow.  As  Robinson  was  ab- 
sent from  Lawrence  when  this  blow  was  to  be  struck,  a  state- 
24 


37°  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

ment  made  by  Dr.  G.  \V.  Brown,  who  was  then  editor  of 
the  Herald  of  Freedom,  the  first  Free-State  paper  published 
in  Kansas,  is  quoted  from  his  "  Reminiscences  of  Governor 
Walker,''  as  follows : 

"  It  is  remembered  that,  on  the  i6th  of  July,  General  Lane  was  in- 
structed to  organize  the  military  forces  in  Kansas  '  for  the  protection 
of  the  ballot-box.'  But  this  was  not  the  source  of  his  authority.  A 
secret  order  was  instituted  by  Lane,  ostensibly  to  oppose  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  slave  power  in  Kansas.  This  organization  was  under  the 
management  of  those  who  opposed  the  voting  policy.  They  were  al- 
ways talking  about  fighting  the  Government  if  it  stood  in  their  way. 
Their  leaders  fled  the  Territory  on  the  first  approach  of  danger,  to  re- 
turn when  all  was  over,  and  renew  the  agitation  which  cooler  heads  had 
allayed  during  their  absence. 

"  William  A.  Phillips,  the  special  Kansas  correspondent  of  the  Xew 
York  Tribune,  wrote  his  journal,  dated  June  1 7th,  1857: 

' '  Mark  my  words!  Nothing  but  a  sufficient  force  of  the  United 
States  army  will  be  able  to  keep  that  Constitutional  Convention  in  Kan- 
sas.' 

"  At  Osawkee,  in  July,  while  the  Delaware  Trust  Lands  were  being 
sold,  speaking  of  his  military  organization,  General  Lane  said :  '  They 
will  assemble  at  Lecompton  on  the  day  the  Constitutional  Convention 
assembles,  for  review.' 

"I  think  it  was  near  noon  of  Saturday,  the  I7th  of  October,  1857, 
Augustus  Wattles,  at  that  time  our  associate  editor,  entered  the  sanctum 
of  the  Herald  of  Freedom  office  in  an  excited  manner,  very  unusual  to 
him,  and  said  hurriedly  : 

"  '  Why,  Brown,  we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  revolution!  General  Lane 
has  ordered  the  organized  Free-State  forces  of  the  Territory  to  assemble 
on  Monday  next,  with  arms  and  three  days'  supply  of  provisions,  the 
purpose  of  which  is  to  march  on  Lecompton  and  kill  every  member  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention.  It  is  also  his  purpose  to  wipe  out  the 
Territorial  Government,  and  set  up  the  Topeka  Government.  The 
United  States  troops  are  en  route  for  Utah,  and  now  is  thought  a  good 
time  to  strike.  Unless  headed  off  in  his  insane  movement,  notwith- 
standing our  recent  success  at  the  polls,  all  is  lost ;  for  the  country  will 
never  endorse  this  scheme  of  wholesale  murder !  ' 

"  I  questioned  him  sufficiently  to  know  that  he  was  making  a  state- 
ment on  positive  knowledge.  Catching  my  hat,  I  rushed  to  the  differ- 
ent business  houses,  and  made  them  acquainted  with  the  information 
Mr.  Wattles  had  imparted.  G.  W.  Collamore,  G.  W.  Smith,  Wesley 
and  Charles  Duncan  (both  now  living  at  Lawrence),  George  Ford, 


CONTEMPLATED    MASSACRE.  371 

Columbus  Hornsby,  and,  indeed,  all  the  substantial  men  whom  I  met, 
were  invited  to  assemble  immediately  in  a  vacant  room  over  the  store 
of  Messrs.  Duncan  for  consultation.  In  a  very  short  time  they  were  in 
session,  probably  from  fifty  to  one  hundred.  We  organized,  with  Judge 
Smith  as  chairman.  The  object  of  the  meeting  was  briefly  stated, 
when,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Collamore,  a  committee  of  three  was  appointed 
to  invite  General  Lane  to  attend  the  meeting. 

"  The  committee  soon  returned,  accompanied  by  the  General.  The 
chairman  stated  to  him  what  the  people  had  casually  learned  in  regard 
to  his  proposed  descent  on  Lecompton,  and  the  assassination  of  the 
members  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  and  inquired  of  him  if  they 
were  correctly  informed. 

"  The  General  at  first  seemed  to  evade  a  direct  answer.  He  en- 
tered into  a  disquisition  on  the  wrongs  the  people  of  Kansas  had 
sustained  from  the  pro-slavery  party,  and  was  really  eloquent,  in  his 
way,  as  he  recounted  our  grievances.  While  he  was  speaking  in  this 
strain,  avoiding  an  answer  to  Judge  Smith's  interrogatory,  a  crowd  of 
young  men,  '  boys,'  as  Lane  always  called  them,  came  pouring  in  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  room,  and,  as  was  their  habit,  when  Lane  pointed  his 
long,  bony  finger  and  said  'Great  God! '  in  his  peculiar  way,  they  cheered 
heartily.  Seeing  that  his  backers  were  with  him,  he  became  more 
bold  and  defiant.  I  was  without  writing  material,  but  with  pencil,  old 
envelopes,  backs  of  letters,  and  on  finger-nails,  wrote  dowfl  the  sub- 
stance of  Lane's  wildest  utterances.  *  *  * 

"It  was  apparent  by  the  vociferous  cheering,  long  before  he  con- 
cluded, that  then  and  there  was  not  the  time  or  place  to  vote  on  the 
question,  so  an  adjournment  was  had  until  evening,  in  front  of  the 
Morrow  House. 

"  During  the  afternoon  the  whole  town  was  advised  of  the  character 
of  the  evening  meeting,  and  the  attendance  was  very  large.  Judge 
Smith  called  the  meeting  to  order.  General  Lane  desired  a  further 
hearing,  and  was  given  the  temporary  stand.  He  came  prepared  for 
the  occasion,  and  his  backers  were  with  him.  They  cheered  him  to  the 
echo.  Mr.  Collamore  and  myself  moved  among  the  crowd,  and  both 
despaired  of  the  result. 

"  Some  other  person  followed  Lane.  I  think  it  was  Judge  Schuy- 
ler,  who,  in  a  mild  and  pacificatory  speech,  deprecated  such  a  condition 
of  the  country,  and  expressed  his  opinion  that  the  occasion  did  not  de- 
mand such  extreme  measures  as  were  proposed. 

"  As  the  second  speaker  retired,  Joel  K.  Goodin  mounted  the  ros- 
trum. Mr.  Collamore  and  myself  expressed  surprise  to  see  him  take 
the  stand.  He  commenced  by  saying  he  had  received  an  order  from 
his  superior  officer  to  report  at  Lawrence,  armed  and  equipped  for  effi- 
cient military  duty,  and  to  bring  provisions  and  camp-equipage  for  three 


372  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

days'  service ;  that, '  In  obedience  to  that  order,  I  am  here  to-night  with 
my  command,  having  made  the  journey  all  the  way  from  Centropolis 
especially  to  obey  it.  (Cheers.)  I  feel  that  the  occasion  is  one  which 
demands  great  sacrifices.  (Cheers.)  We  have  worked  all  summer  in 
a  quiet  way  to  regain  the  rights  wrested  from  us  by  the  invasion  of  the 
3<Dth  of  March,  '55,  and  in  spite  of  fraud  and  artifice  we  have  triumphed! 
We  have  seen  this  Territory  torn  and  disturbed  by  hostile  parties ;  men 
murdered  in  cold  blood ;  our  homes  burned,  and  our  families  scattered ; 
and  we,  at  times,  compelled  to  seek  personal  safety  in  flight.  Governor 
Geary  came  here  and  restored  order ;  and  Governor  Walker  has  bent 
all  his  energies  in  the  same  direction.  Under  his  wise  administration, 
we  saw  in  imagination  a  brilliant  future  before  us.  But  here  is  that 
Lecompton  Constitutional  Convention  threatening  us  with  new  danger, 
when  we  supposed  our  dangers  were  all  passed.  General  Lane  tells  us 
that  further  peaceful  measures  are  out  of  the  question ;  that  our  only 
remedy  for  this  new  trouble  is  by  shedding  blood.  I  fully  agree  with 
him!  (Boisterous  cheers.)  Nothing  but  blood  will  quiet  this  agitation, 
and  restore  tranquillity  to  Kansas.  Nothing  but  blood  will  make  Kan- 
sas a  free  State.  (Cheers.)  I  came  here  expressly  to  spill  blood,  and 
I  propose  to  do  it  before  I  return  home.  (Protracted  cheering.)  It  is 
not  just  that  the  whole  country  shall  be  convulsed ;  that  disorder  and 
violence  shall  be  continued ;  that  the  perpetuity  of  the  Government  shall 
be  endangered  by  a  revolution,  when  a  little  waste  of  worthless  blood 
will  restore  order  and  tranquillity  again!  (Cheers  on  cheers.)  But  I 
may  differ  with  some  of  you  as  to  the  proper  place  to  begin  this  blood- 
spilling  business.  (Hear!  hear!)  No  person  has  occasioned  more 
strife,  or  been  the  more  fruitful  cause  of  our  disturbances  than — James 
H.  Lane!  He  demands  blood!  We  all  want  it;  but  it  is  his  blood 
that  is  demanded  at  this  time ;  and  if  he  presses  on  his  assassination 
project,  I  propose  he  shall  be  the  first  person  to  contribute  in  that 
direction.'  (The  wildest  cheering  possible,  greatly  prolonged,  fol- 
lowed. ) 

"  General  Lane  seemed  perfectly  confounded.  The  whole  throng 
were  taken  by  surprise,  and  the  business  portion  of  it  were  delighted 
beyond  expression  that  some  person  had  the  ability  and  sufficient  force 
of  character  to  meet  a  bold,  bad  man,  and  throttle  his  murderous  plans 
at  their  inception." 

As  to  the  truthfulness  of  this  report,  Dr.  Brown  has  kindly 
permitted  the  use  of  the  following  letters  of  endorsement. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  say  to  such  as  know  the  gentlemen 
writing  these  letters  that  'no  persons  stand  higher  for  integ- 
rity and  veracity  than  they : 


LETTERS    OF    DUNCAN    AND    GOODIN.  373 

"LAWRENCE,  KANSAS,  May  8,  1881. 

"  DOCTOR  BROWN  :  With  regard  to  your  '  Reminiscences  of  General 
Walker,'  I  am  glad  to  say,  after  a  careful  perusal  of  the  work,  it  em- 
bodies the  exact  facts  in  every  essential  particular  as  they  came  under 
my  personal  observation.  In  reading  I  could  not  but  feel  grateful  that 
one  of  the  'old  guard'  remained  who  could  so  truthfully  and  minutely 
record  every  important  event  occurring  during  the  period  of  which 
you  write.  I  assure  you,  friend  Brown,  that  your  work  is  highly  prized, 
and  shall  be  carefully  preserved. 

"  Yours  respectfully, 

"C.  S.  DUNCAN." 

"  OTTAWA,  KANSAS,  November  30,  1881. 

"  MY  OLD  FRIEND  :  I  received  yesterday  the  galley  proof  of  your 
'  Blood  and  Thunder '  article,  Chapter  16,  in  your  '  Reminiscences  of 
Governor  Walker,'  and  have  carefully  read  it.  It  freshly  brought  to 
mind  many  past  scenes  and  incidents.  My  little  '  blood  speech '  is  cor- 
rectly reported  as  near  as  I  can  remember  it — at  least  you  have  given  its 
import.  We  were  being  called  from  our  homes  every  few  days  to  satisfy 
the  ambition  and  caprice  of  the  uneasy  and  tireless  Lane,  and  were  be- 
coming not  only  disgusted  but  mad,  and  proposed  to  have  it  '  dried  up.' 
A  most  fearful  and  wanton  system  of  ravaging  and  assassination  was 
being  planned  by  Lane,  which  the  Free-State  party  were  intended  to 
be  held  responsible  for,  not  only  to  our  own  Government,  but  to  the 
world.  For  one,  I  was  unwilling  to  take  any  such  responsibility. 
Those  I  had  with  me  felt  the  same  way,  and  urged  that  I  give  public 
expression  to  their  views.  This  I  did  fearlessly  and  plainly,  and  was 
most  happy  then,  as  I  am  now,  that  I  contributed  something  towards 
turning  the  tide  of  proposed  outlawry  and  bloodshed  into  channels  of 
peace. 

"  In  the  early  days  we  always  had  a  bad  element  at  Lawrence.  I 
refer  to  the  young,  undisciplined  bloods,  who  were  without  reputable 
means  of  support,  always  ready  and  anxious  to  take  part  in  any  hellish 
scheme  set  on  foot  to  stir  up  strife.  This  element  was  largely  con- 
trolled by,  or  rather  was  ready  to  effervesce  at,  the  dictum  of  Lane. 
Their  time  was  nothing,  while  we  in  the  country  had  to  undergo  many 
severe  privations  in  running  after  Lane's  orders,  messages,  and  com- 
mands as  self-imposed  military  dictator.  No  wonder  we  tired  and  felt 
in  a  degree  revengeful.  For  years  I  could  not  agree  with  him,  and  was 
constantly  in  his  way  in  the  '  Executive  Committee,'  thwarting  his  ridic- 
ulously impracticable,  reckless,  extravagant,  and  sometimes  atrocious 
plans  and  suggestions.  Usually  I  had  Judge  Smith,  yourself,  and 
Holliday,  when  present,  with  me,  which  gave  us  the  majority.  He 
would  curse  and  fume,  but  we  were  firm  and  inflexible,  so  he  would 


374  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

soon  drop  his  crazy  project,  to  immediately  concoct  another  equally  ob- 
jectionable. I  feel  that  we  did  our  duty  well,  and  am  content  to  abide 
the  decision  of  the  future  historian  who  shall  review  our  actions. 

"  Truly  yours, 

"  J.   K.   GOODIX." 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Brown  the  meeting  voted  to  hold  a 
mass  convention  at  Lecompton  when  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention should  meet,  and  fire  off  some  resolutions  and 
speeches  instead  of  Sharp's  rifles.  General  Lane  was  pres- 
ent at  that  convention  and  relieved  himself  by  making  a 
characteristic  speech,  and  the  war  cloud  passed  off. 

When  the  convention  completed  its  labors,  it  submitted  a 
slavery  provision  only  to  be  voted  upon,  and  this  was  am- 
biguous. The  votes  were  to  be  "  for  the  constitution  with 
slavery "  or  "  for  the  constitution  with  no  slavery."  The 
constitution  with  no  slavery  made  that  institution  perpetual 
as  to  slaves  then  in  the  Territory  and  their  offspring. 

The  constitution  declared  that  slaves  were  property  and 
that 

"  The  right  of  property  in  slaves  now  in  the  Territory  shall 
in  no  manner  be  interfered  with. 

"  No  alteration  shall  be  made  to  affect  the  right  of  prop- 
erty in  the  ownership  of  slaves." 

This  election  was  ignored  by  the  Free-State  men.  It  was 
held  on  the  2ist  of  December,  and  6266  votes  were  cast  for 
the  constitution  with  slavery,  and  569  votes  for  the  constitu- 
tion with  no  slavery.  A  large  part  of  these  votes,  as  esti- 
mated, were  fraudulent. 

The  Free-State  men  petitioned  Governor  Stanton — Gov- 
ernor Walker  having  gone  to  Washington  never  to  return — 
to  convene  the  Legislature,  now  Free-State,  that  provision 
might  be  made  for  submitting  the  constitution  as  a  whole  to 
a  vote  of  the  people.  Accordingly,  the  Legislature  was 
convened  on  the  yth  day  of  December,  and  the  constitution 
was  submitted  as  desired.  At  this  election  the  vote  for  the 
constitution  with  slavery  was  1 38 ;  for  the  constitution  with 


FREE-STATE    CONVENTION.  375 

no  slavery,  23  ;   while  against  the  constitution  the  vote  was 
10,226. 

This  was  a  severe  blow  and  should  have  been  fatal  in  any 
"  well-regulated  community,"  but  political  parties  sometimes 
become  desperate  and  slavery  propagandists  were  always  so. 
It  was  feared  the  Administration  had  votes  enough  in  Con- 
gress to  admit  the  fraud  even  against  this  overwhelming  vote 
of  the  people,  and  the  President  recommended  that  it  should 
be  done,  hence  one  more  "job  "  remained  for  the  Free-State 
men,  namely,  to  elect  the  State  officers  and  Legislature 
under  this  constitution,  that  it  might  be  speedily  changed  if 
admitted.  Upon  this  question  they  were  divided.  A  con- 
vention was  held  at  Lawrence,  lasting  two  days,  to  consider 
the  matter.  Those  in  favor  of  voting  regarded  the  question 
as  most  vital  and  were  intensely  interested,  while  some  who 
were  opposed  to  voting  pleaded  inconsistency  and  a  backing 
down  from  the  high  position  previously  occupied ;  and 
another  class  preferred  anarchy  to  law,  confusion  to  peace ; 
and  these  two  classes  when  united  out-voted  the  conserva- 
tives by  getting  their  friends  recognized  as  delegates  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Territory  not  fully  represented,  and  by  vot- 
ing by  districts.  A  majority  of  the  members  present  were 
in  favor  of  voting,  but  when  the  vote  was  taken  by  districts 
the  proposition  failed.  As  this  was  the  rule  of  the  conven- 
tion the  conservatives  were  beaten.  Lane  was  not  in  the 
convention,  but  was  a  party  to  a  characteristic  trick  thus 
described  in  G.  W.  Brown's  "  Reminiscences  of  Governor 
Walker :  " 

' '  And  this  result  was  reached  by  an  artful  ruse  of  General  Lane  and 
his  backers,  which  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection :  Just  as  the 
vote  was  being  taken,  General  E.  B.  Whitman  appeared  on  the  scene 
and  asked  to  be  heard.  He  represented  that  he  had  left  the  camp  of 
General  Lane,  near  Sugar  Mound,  in  south-eastern  Kansas,  on  Tues- 
day night  at  nine  o'clock ;  that  he  had  ridden  continually,  changing 
horses  four  times,  having  been  twenty  hours  in  the  saddle ;  that  he  had 
travelled  one  hundred  miles,  stopping  to  eat  only  one  meal  on  the  whole 
route,  to  bring  the  convention  the  intelligence.  He  said  General  Lane 


376  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

had  about  two  hundred  men  under  his  command ;  that  he  held  a  strong 
position ;  was  well  supplied  with  provisions,  and  was  expecting  an  attack 
the  next  day  from  a  company  of  one  hundred  United  States  troops  and 
a  large  force  of  Missourians.  He  further  stated  that  General  Lane  had 
issued  a  proclamation  stating  that  war  had  been  made  upon  the  peaceful, 
unoffending  inhabitants,  and  that  he  had  consented  to  take  command  of 
the  people,  at  their  urgent  solicitation,  to  resist  aggression ;  that  all 
persons  taken  in  arms  from  Missouri  who  were  arrayed  against  the 
people  of  Kansas  would  be  put  to  death ;  that  he  is  only  acting  on  the 
defensive,  and  when  the  attempt  at  subjugation  shall  be  abandoned,  his 
command  will  return  to  their  ordinary  avocations. 

"  General  Whitman  went  on  to  say  that  persons  were  marching  for- 
ward from  all  parts  of  the  Territory  to  the  scene  of  excitement,  to  stand 
or  fall  with  General  Lane  and  his  brave  command.  He  represented  the 
danger  as  imminent,  and  the  probability  is  that  the  contest  will  become 
general.  After  this  statement  he  proceeded  to  harangue  the  convention, 
charging  them  with  wasting  their  time  over  a  question  of  no  importance 
whatever,  while  the  real  battle  was  being  fought  between  freedom  and 
slavery  in  southern  Kansas.  '  This  is  no  time  for  hair-splitting  ques- 
tions,' he  said,  '  but  it  is  the  moment  for  brave  and  vigorous  action.' 

"  Whitman's  wild  manner  and  excitement  was  extended  to  the 
audience.  Hinton,  falsely  representing  Breckenridge  County,  being  a 
resident  of  Lawrence,  sprang  upon  a  seat  and  called  for  three  cheers  for 
General  Lane.  The  vote  was  taken  immediately  following  this  episode, 
with  the  results  stated. 

"  After  packing  the  convention  on  Wednesday,  it  was  very  apparent 
the  result  reached  would  be  attained.  On  that  evening  about  thirty 
members  of  the  convention  held  a  meeting  at  the  Herald  cf  Freedom 
office,  where  the  situation  was  discussed,  and  the  fact  was  shown  that 
the  convention  was  controlled  by  a  secret  organization,  at  the  head  of 
which  was  General  Lane,  Whitman  being  understood  as  second  in  rank. 
This  fact  was  demonstrated  a  day  or  two  after  Whitman's  crazy  speech, 
by  the  redoubtable  General,  who  was  '  on  the  eve  of  fighting  the  United 
States  troops,'  appearing  on  the  streets  of  Lawrence  congratulating  his 
friends  on  the  result  of  the  convention." 


But  the  feeling  was  so  intense  on  the  part  of  the  conserva- 
tives that  a  mass  meeting  was  immediately  held  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  Herald  of  Freedom  office  and  a  ticket  nominated, 
headed  by  G.  W.  Smith  for  Governor. 

The  men  most  active  and  efficient  in  this  bolt  were  G.  W. 
Brown,  Thomas  Ewing,  Jr.,  and  S.  N.  Wood.  To  these 


LECOMPTON    STATE    ELECTION.  377 

men  is  due  a  large  share  of  the  credit  for  the  vigorous  cam- 
paign that  followed.  Ewing  furnished  the  sinews  of  war, 
probably  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars. 

When  Lane  appeared  in  Lawrence  after  his  ruse,  he  was 
very  smiling  and  complaisant,  thinking  he  had  obtained  a 
great  victory ;  but  he  soon  found  that  the  bolters'  ticket  was 
being  endorsed  by  all  the  influential  citizens  and  that  it 
would  be  elected,  even  with  his  opposition,  and  he  joined 
the  procession.  As  he  had  no  use  for  a  minority  party, 
Avhenever  he  found  his  malcontents  and  "  Danites  "  were  to 
be  beaten  he  would  join  the  conservatives.  Being  destitute 
of  principles  or  convictions  of  any  kind,  and  of  moral  or 
physical  courage,  and  being  consumed  by  an  inordinate  am- 
bition, he  was  an  unsatisfactory  and  untrustworthy  leader  of 
his  faction. 

The  election  came  off  on  the  4th  of  January,  1858,  and 
the  Free-State  ticket  was  successful.  It  was  true  General 
Calhoun,  the  president  of  the  convention,  with  the  president 
of  the  council  and  speaker  of  the  house,  was  to  count  the 
votes,  and  he  withheld  certificates  and  hid  the  returns  under 
a  wood  pile  in  a  candle  box  at  Lecompton ;  but  Colonel 
Walker  found  the  box,  the  Legislature  passed  a  stringent  law 
against  frauds  in  elections,  and  Calhoun  left  Kansas.  Now 
there  was  but  slight  motive  on  the  part  of  the  Democrats  to 
admit  Lecompton,  and  the  famous  English  Bill  was  passed 
permitting  another  vote  on  the  fraud. 

This  vote  was  taken  August  2,  1858,  with  1788  for  and 
1 1.300  against  Lecompton  in  its  new  garb.  This  ended  the 
struggle  so  far  as  a  Slave-State  constitution  was  concerned. 
Governor  Stanton  is  entitled  to  great  credit  for  his  course 
throughout  in  the  matter,  and  especially  for  convening  the 
Legislature  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  Lecompton  to  a  fair 
vote  of  the  people.  By  this  act  he  lost  his  official  head,  but  he 
gained  the  lasting  gratitude  of  the  people,  and  a  most  enviable 
place  in  history  as  a  patriot  who  held  country  higher  than 
party,  and  personal  honor  higher  than  political  preferment. 


THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

General  J.  W.  Denver,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs, 
was  on  a  visit  to  the  Indian  tribes  in  Kansas  when  the  action 
of  Stanton  in  convening  the  Legislature  was  reported  to 
Washington,  and  he  was  immediately  appointed  Secretary 
and  acting  Governor  in  Stanton's  place.  The  first  informa- 
tion of  this  action  that  reached  Kansas  was  in  the  St.  Louis 
Democrat.  As  Robinson  was  on  his  way  to  Lecompton,  he 
called  upon  Governor  Stanton  at  the  old  "Clark  cabin" 
with  this  paper,  and  there  found  General  Denver  as  his 
guest.  It  was  evident  that  Stanton  had  been  removed  be- 
cause of  his  action  towards  Lecompton,  and  Robinson  de- 
clared that  if  Stanton's  work  was  to  be  undone  and  the  peo- 
ple subjected  to  further  outrage,  all  conservative  counsels 
would  end  at  once.  General  Denver,  who  had  remained 
silent  for  some  time,  at  length  said  the  matter  was  new  to 
him  and  entirely  unexpected,  but  of  one  thing  all  might  rest 
assured :  if  he  should  act  in  place  of  Stanton,  he  should  fin- 
ish the  work  already  begun  and  should  do  everything  in  his 
power  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  Territory  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  majority  of  the  citizens.  On  this  assurance  Rob- 
inson pledged  earnest  support,  and  never  had  occasion  to 
withdraw  or  regret  his  pledge. 

The  Territorial  Legislature  met  January  4,  1858,  in  regu- 
lar session,  and  enacted  a  large  volume  of  new  statutes. 
Among  others  a  law  of  the  called  session  was  perfected,  at 
the  instance  of  Lane,  creating  a  "  Military  Board,"  consist- 
ing of  several  generals,  with  Lane  general-in-chief.  As  this 
was  an  attempt  to  override  the  authority  of  the  Governor 
as  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia,  it  was  most  impolitic, 
as  it  was  not  only  in  violation  of  the  Organic  Act  and 
would  necessarily  arouse  antagonism  where  there  should  be 
co-operation  and  harmony,  but,  worst  of  all,  it  gave  the 
semblance  of  authority  to  the  leader  of  the  lawless  bands 
that  infested  the  Territory,  whose  only  business  was  plunder 
and  pillage,  and  whose  only  aspirations  were  for  disorder 
and  revolution.  Not  long  after  the  Military  Board  was  or- 


GENERAL  MASSACRE  PLANNED.  379 

ganized  Lane  became  thirsty  for  blood  and  proposed  a  gen- 
eral massacre  of  pro-slavery  men. 

Robinson  was  in  Lawrence  at  this  time,  and  he  was  in- 
vited to  join  a  secret  order,  which  invitation  was  accepted. 
After  the  initiation  ceremonies  Lane  arose  with  great  dignity 
and  said  he  had  ordered  General to  strike  at  Leaven- 
worth,  General to  strike  at  Atchison,  General to 

strike  at  Kickapoo,  and  other  places  were  to  be  struck  by 
other  generals,  closing  his  solemn  announcement  by  saying, 
"  It  now  remains  for  Lawrence  to  say  what  shall  be  done 
with  Lecompton."  After  this  revelation  silence  reigned  for 
the  space  of  several  minutes,  when  from  different  parts  of 
the  room  Robinson  was  called  for.  He  responded  to  the 
call,  and  said  he  had  heard  a  very  remarkable  statement  and 
he  would  like  to  know  by  whose  authority  this  general  mas- 
sacre was  to  be  made.  Lane  replied,  "  By  the  authority  of 
the  Military  Board."  Robinson  said  that  neither  the  Mili- 
tary nor  any  other  board  had  any  such  authority,  and  he 
gave  notice  that  whoever  attempted  to  execute  any  such 
orders  would  have  him  to  fight. 

One  of  these  remarkable  orders  has  been  preserved,  which 
reads  as  follows : 

"  DONIPHAN,  KANSAS  TERRITORY. 
"  Brigadier-General  J.  G.  Losee  : 

"GENERAL:  The  bearers  of  this,  Colonel  Leinhart  and  his  friend 
Dickinson,  have  some  idea  of  colonizing  Kickapoo.  If  you  could  fur- 
nish them  forty  or  fifty  hardy  pioneers  who  could  bear  the  exposure  of 
such  a  settlement,  I  am  clear  that  it  would  be  attended  with  good  results 
to  Kansas  and  the  cause  of  freedom.  Leinhart  and  Dickinson  are  the 
men  to  put  through  without  flinching  anything  they  may  undertake.  I 
trust  you  will  give  this  matter  your  earnest  and  immediate  attention,  as 
Kickapoo  should  be  colonized  at  an  early  day. 

"  Yours  truly,  J.   H.  LANE." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  as  soon  as  Lane's  insane 
projects  came  to  the  surface  they  were  squelched  by  the 
people,  but  how  much  private  assassination  and  infamy  was 
practised  the  Judgment  Day  alone  can  reveal. 


380  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

That  both  Lane  and  Brown  were  monomaniacs  there  is 
but  little  question — one,  like  all  timid  men  with  arbitrary 
power,  cruel  and  bloodthirsty ;  and  the  other  believed  he 
was  commissioned  by  God  to  free  the  slave  and  exterminate 
the  slave-holders.  But  the  friends  of  these  men  will  not 
permit  the  plea  of  insanity,  and  hence  the  other  alternative 
must  be  accepted — if  not  monomaniacs,  they  were  demo- 
niacs. 

Whether  the  secret  order  in  which.  Robinson  was  initiated 
was  the  "  Danite  "  order,  so  called,  or  some  other,  he  does 
not  know,  as  he  was  never  notified  of  another  meeting ;  but 
that  it  could.be  used  to  aid  unprincipled  men  in  a  career  of 
crime  was  self-evident.  The  only  revelation  of  the  "  Dan- 
ites  "  that  was  published  by  one  of  its  own  members  was  by 
James  Redpath,  in  his  paper  called  the  Crusader  of 'Freedom. 
He  called  its  name  "  Danite,"  and  as  it  engaged  in  the  same 
work  proposed  by  Lane  in  the  order  at  Lawrence,  it  was 
probably  the  same  association.  That  its  character  and  the 
character  of  its  leader  may  be  understood,  Redpath  is  quoted 
as  follows : 

"  We  are  ready  to  swear  in  any  court  of  justice,  or  to  make  solemn 
affidavit  of  the  fact,  that  General  Lane  intimated  to  us  that  if  Governor 
Denver  challenged  him,  he  would  have  him  put  out  of  the  way  by  the 
'  secret  order  known  as  the  Danites.' 

"  We  thought  he  could  not  be  in  earnest,  but  circumstances  subse- 
quently ascertained  convinced  us  of  our  error.  It  was  the  corroboration 
of  this  intention  that  determined  us,  at  whatever  cost,  to  throw  the 
human  viper  off.  It  will  cost  us  everything  we  possess  in  Kansas — 
press,  landed  property,  and  business  prospects ;  but  we  prefer  to  be 
free  and  poor,  rather  than  remain  in  the  power  of  an  assassin. 

"  As,  a  few  weeks  before,  he  had  tried  to  make  me  the  agent  for  as- 
sassinating Robert  S.  Kelly ;  as  he  was  pursuing  Mr.  Shepherd,  with 
whom  he  quarrelled  when  he  could  not  make  him  a  tool — with  a  malig- 
nity it  would  be  euphony  to  characterize  as  infernal.  I  peremptorily 
refused. 

"  Lane  organized  a  club  of  Danites  in  Doniphan  County.  I  became 
a  member  of  it.  Although  he  could  have  attended  it,  and  was  expected 
to  attend  it,  he  attempted,  on  the  second  night  of  its  meeting,  to  make 
me  the  agent  to  induce  the  club  to  kill  Bob  Kelly.  *  *  *  I  never 


DANITES NEW    CONSTITUTION.  381 

hated  Lane  till  he  asked  me  to  do  this  deed.  I  did  indeed  despise  him 
from  the  bottom  of  my  soul,  but  did  not  believe  him  capable  of  a  scheme 
as  diabolical  as  to  involve  a  young  man,  without  any  cause,  in  a  criminal 
act  of  private  revenge.  It  was  so  cowardly,  contemptible,  and  hellish 
that  I  left  him  without  saying  a  word. 

"  I  am  not  the  only  young  man  whom  he  has  tried  to  use  for  his 
cowardly  schemes  of  secret  and  criminal  revenge,  and  he  may  find,  too, 
that  he  has  reckoned  without  his  host  in  more  cases  than  in  mine. 

"  But  beware,  Lane,  beware!   for  I  have  not  told  all  that  I  know." 

From  the  time  of  the  election  of  State  officers  and  Legis- 
lature under  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  on  the  4th  of  Janu- 
ary, till  the  submission  under  the  English  Bill  in  August, 
1858,  there  was  a  state  of  suspense  and  uncertainty.  No 
one  could  predict  the  fate  of  Lecompton  in  Congress,  and 
much  discussion  was  had  by  the  Free-State  men.  Some 
advocated  another  constitutional  convention  to  be  called  by 
the  Legislature  that  it  might  have  the  same  authority  in  this 
respect  as  Lecompton.  This  method  was  at  length  adopted, 
all  parties  acquiescing.  A  bill  was  passed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture just  before  adjournment,  and  sent  to  the  Governor,  but 
as  he  thought  Kansas  had  constitutions  enough  already,  and 
as  it  did  not  reach  him  till  within  three  days  of  the  expira- 
tion of  the  session,  he  pocketed  it.  Here  was  a  dilemma. 
If  he  would  veto  the  bill  and  return  it,  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  passing  it  over  his  veto ;  but  how  could  it  be 
reached  under  the  circumstances  ? 

Governor  Denver,  at  the  Old  Settlers'  meeting  in  Bis- 
marck Grove,  September,  1884,  had  this  to  say  of  this  con- 
stitution : 

' '  Well,  I  concluded  that  I  would  not  approve  that  bill  for  calling  a 
convention  to  frame  a  new  constitution.  Several  committees  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  Legislature  to  call  upon  me,  begging  me,  if  I  would  not 
approve  it,  to  return  it  to  them  that  they  might  act  upon  it.  I  told 
them  no,  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind,  and  that  I  was  not  to  be  moved ; 
that  I  thought  we  had  constitutions  enough,  and  that  I  had  an  absolute 
veto  in  that  case,  and  I  proposed  to  exercise  it,  which  I  did. 

"  The  next  night,  after  twelve  o'clock,  a  bill  was  brought  to  me  pur- 
porting to  be  a  bill  calling  a  convention  for  a  new  constitution,  and  en- 


382  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

clorsed  on  it  that  it  had  been  returned  by  the  Governor  and  passed  by  a 
two-thirds  vote,  notwithstanding  these  objections.  That  was  signed  by 
the  four  officers — the  presiding  officer  of  each  house,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Council,  and  the  Clerk  of  the  Assembly.  I  immediately  sent  for 
them,  and  told  them  that  while  that  act  of  theirs,  if  I  was  disposed  to 
act  upon  it,  gave  me  power  to  do  something  much  to  their  disadvantage, 
I  did  not  desire  to  do  it,  because  I  did  not  want  any  trouble  or  disturb- 
ance in  the  Territory ;  that  that  act  was  all  wrong  on  their  part ;  that 
they  certified  to  that  which  was  not  true ;  that  that  paper  had  never  been 
before  the  Governor ;  that  the  bill  sent  to  him  never  had  been  out  of 
his  possession,  and  he  had  not  returned  it  to  the  Legislature  with  his 
objections,  and  consequently  the  whole  statement  was  false. 

"  Mr.  Currier  had  the  bill  in  his  hands.  He  asked  me  what  I 
wanted  them  to  do.  I  told  them  I  wished  them  to  do  one  of  two 
things  :  to  give  me  a  certificate  of  the  fact  that  that  had  never  been  acted 
upon  by  the  Legislature  at  all,  or  else  to  destroy  it  there,  in  my  pres- 
ence. They  said  that  that  would  be  pretty  rough.  Currier  said  that 
he  would  not  put  his  name  to  any  such  paper  as  that,  and  said  he : 
'  What  shall  we  do  with  it?  '  Deitzler  said:  '  Destroy  it.'  He  said: 
'  All  right,'  and  tore  it  up  and  stuck  it  in  the  stove.  That  was  the  last 
of  that  bill. 

"  Now,  a  resolution  was  passed  after  the  term  had  closed,  after 
twelve  o'clock  at  night,  and  the  legal  term  of  the  Legislature  had  abso- 
lutely closed — a  resolution  was  passed,  declaring  that  that  bill  had  been 
properly  passed  by  the  Legislature,  and  they  resolved  that  they  would 
go  on  and  hold  the  convention.  Notwithstanding  all  that  had  occurred, 
and  the  failure  of  the  bill  to  become  a  law,  they  decided  to  hold  the  con- 
vention." 

This  failure  to  give  legality  to  the  convention  left  it  on  a 
par  with  the  Topeka  Constitution,  and  it  failed  to  receive  the 
endorsement  or  support  of  many  Free-State  men.  However, 
such  men  as  Conway,  Phillips,  Ritchey,  Lane,  and  others, 
who  wanted  some  person  at  the  head  of  the  State  Govern- 
ment who  could  be  used  to  set  the  Government  in  motion 
against  the  territorial  authority,  besides  many  conservative 
men,  attended  the  election  for  members  of  the  convention 
and  the  convention  itself.  The  members  first  met  at  Min- 
neola,  the  new  capital  of  the  Territory,  but  after  organizing 
adjourned  to  Leavenworth ;  hence  this  constitution  bears 
the  name  of  that  town.  The  location  of  the  capital  at  Min- 


LEAVENWORTH    CONSTITUTION.  383 

neola,  on  an  open  prairie,  with  plenty  of  shares  of  stock  in 
and  around  the  Legislature,  shows  that  the  Free-State  men 
were  human,  as  much  so  in  some  respects  as  the  border 
ruffians.  Of  course  Governor  Denver  paid  no  attention  to 
the  new  seat  of  government,  and  the  archives  remained  at 
Lecompton.  Attorney-General  Black  gave  his  opinion  that 
the  bill  calling  the  Leavemvorth  constitutional  convention 
did  not  become  a  law,  and  so  indifferent  did  the  people  be- 
come to  this  instrument  that  it  received  only  about  3000 
votes  in  a  voting  population  of  about  14,000  or  15,000  in 
the  Territory. 

Notwithstanding  the  want  of  faith  in  the  constitution,  all 
parties  rallied  to  the  nominating  convention  for  state  officers, 
April  28-29,  to  see  tnat  proper  men  should  be  selected. 
The  ticket,  headed  by  H.  J.  Adams  for  Governor,  was  satis- 
factory to  the  conservatives,  as  it  had  upon  it  the  names  of 
some  of  the  safest  men  in  the  Territory. 

Lane  and  the  extreme  radicals  were  disappointed,  as  they 
failed  to  get  what  they  had  labored  for.  Some  of  these  men 
favored  setting  the  Government  in  operation  even  against 
the  territorial  Government,  whether  Lecompton  should  be 
admitted  or  not,  but  they  could  not  control  the  convention 
nor  get  such  men  nominated  for  State  officers.  Even  Lane, 
who  went  to  the  convention  declaring  he  would  have  a  nom- 
ination for  United  States  senator,  utterly  failed  to  get  an  en- 
dorsement for  that  position. 

As  in  1856  there  were  men  desirous  of  coming  in  conflict 
with  Federal  authority  without  rhyme  or  reason,  so  now,  in 
1857—58,  the  most  ultra  and  wild  schemes  were  advanced. 
The  Free-State  men,  thanks  to  the  men  of  political  sagacity 
like  Thomas  Ewing,  G.  W.  Smith,  W.  Y.  Roberts,  G.  W. 
Brown,  S.  N.  Wood,  and  those  who  secured  the  election  of 
State  officers  and  Legislature  under  the  Lecompton  constitu- 
tion, now  had  possession  of  every  Government  in  the  Terri- 
tory— the  Territorial  Legislature,  the  Topeka  State  Govern- 
ment, the  Lecompton  State  Government,  and  would  have 


384  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  Leavenworth  State  government — and  yet  some  of  the 
"ultra-radical"  men  were  almost  dying  for  some  scheme 
that  would  result  in  a  conflict.  They  were  very  bellicose 
because  when  the  Territorial  and  State  Legislatures  met  in 
January,  both  at  Lawrence,  the  State  Governor  and  Legis- 
lature did  not  at  once  proceed  to  make  war  upon  the  Terri- 
torial Legislature,  although  both  were  equally  Free-State, 
and  one  had  not  a  dollar  in  money  and  could  not  get  a  dol- 
lar except  by  taxing  an  impoverished  people,  while  all  the 
expenses  of  the  other  would  be  paid  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. The  Free-State  men  of  both  governments  reviewed 
the  situation  in  a  most  amicable  manner,  and  decided  upon 
the  course  adopted  without  bitterness  or  friction  of  any 
kind ;  yet  some  men  had  grown  very  wise,  in  their  own  esti- 
mation, and  belabored  the  stupid  and  cowardly  office-holders 
with  a  political  cat-and-nine-tails.  Most  officious  in  this 
work  was  Mr.  E.  B.  Whitman,  formerly  of  Massachusetts. 
He  never  seemed  pleased  that  the  ruse  which  he  played  in 
the  convention  in  December,  when  he  made  a  sensational 
speech  about  Lane's  great  exploits  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  Territory,  should  come  to  naught.  The  election  of  the 
State  officers  and  Legislature,  after  such  an  effort  to  defeat 
it,  was  more  than  a  common  Christian  could  bear,  especially 
a  Unitarian  Christian.  Hence  he  and  Conway  wrote  most 
remarkable  letters  to  George  L.  Stearns,  of  Massachusetts, 
for  money  to  enable  them  to  procure  the  election  of  the 
right  kind  of  men  for  the  State  officers  under  the  Leaven- 
worth  constitution.  As  Mr.  Whitman's  letter  gives  the 
"  ultra-radical  "  view,  and  as  it,  with  Conway's,  was  pub- 
lished in  circular  form  and  distributed  broadcast  in  the  East, 
it  is  here  given  : 

"  LAWRENCE,  April  13,  1858. 
"  George  L.  Stearns,  Esq. 

1  MY  I'KAR  SIR:  Yours  of  March  i8th  and  3Oth  are  both  before 
me.  Politically,  I  can  answer  both  in  the  same  terms.  A  brief  review 
of  the  course  which  events  have  taken  here  for  the  last  six  months  will 
enable  you  to  understand  our  position  and  appreciate  our  necessities. 


WHITMAN    TO    STEARNS.  385 

While  Kansas  is  blessed  with  many  of  the  truest  men  of  the  age,  men 
who  are  fully  up  to  the  emergency,  she  is  also  cursed  with  some  of  the 
most  unprincipled  demagogues  that  ever  afflicted  any  country.  Prin- 
ciples are  of  use  to  them  only  to  subserve  personal  or  party  ends ;  and 
what  makes  the  matter  worse  is,  that  some  of  them  are  among  those 
who  have  heretofore  been  looked  up  to  as  leaders. 

"  In  January  last  a  large  number  of  the  people  were  induced,  by  the 
grossest  deception,  to  go  into  an  election  for  State  officers  under  the 
Lecompton  Constitution.  The  distinct  declaration  was  made  that  the 
aim,  in  this  move,  was  to  fill  the  offices  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  slavery 
men,  and  then  to  refrain  from  touching  the  unclean  thing,  and  allow  the 
people  to  set  up  their  own  government,  either  the  Topeka  or  some 
other,  to  be  inaugurated  by  the  Legislature  about  to  assemble.  No 
sooner  were  they  elected  than  some  of  the  more  bold  and  incautious 
began  to  avow  their  intention  to  put  the  Gm'ernment  in  operation,  and 
make  it  the  parent  of  the  future  government.  In  January  the  two 
Legislatures  met — the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Free-State  men,  and  the 
Topeka  State  Government  Legislature.  It  very  soon  became  evident 
to  the  most  casual  observer  that  there  was  very  little  unity  of  purpose, 
and  in  fact  a  real  antagonism  of  principle.  Long  before  the  Territorial 
Legislature  adjourned,  it  was  pretty  well  understood  that  designing  men 
were  making  tools  and  fools  of  the  Topeka  Legislature,  to  subserve  un- 
worthy ends  ;  to  keep  the  people  quiet  while  they  matured  their  plans 
for  its  overthrow.  Nothing,  however,  was  said  openly,  but  everybody 
was  suspicious  of  his  neighbor.  The  bill  for  a  new  Constitutional  Con- 
vention was  evidently  postponed  with  a  design  to  defeat  it,  and  yet  it 
was  held  up  as  the  compromise  ground  on  which  both  extremes  were  to 
meet.  On  Saturday  the  Territorial  Legislature  adjourned,  and  in  the 
afternoon  a  mass  meeting  was  held  to  consider  of  the  public  welfare. 
The  Topeka  Legislature  had  not  adjourned,  but  was  anxiously  inquiring 
what  to  do.  In  order,  if  possible,  to  draw  out  an  open  declaration  of 
secretly  cherished  purposes,  and  to  compel  men  to  show  their  real 
colors,  I  introduced  a  resolution  to  the  effect  '  that  in  case  the  Le- 
compton Constitution  should  be  adopted  by  Congress,  and  a  government 
inaugurated  under  it,  before  the  Constitutional  Convention  just  created 
should  have  time  to  complete  its  work,  then  it  would  be  the  duty  of 
every  Free-State  man  to  fall  back  upon  the  so-called  Topeka  Govern- 
ment, and  rally  under  it  to  the  last.'  This  called  forth  one  of  the 
warmest  and  the  ablest  debates  that  has  ever  taken  place  in  Kansas, 
which  was  continued  until  one  o'clock  Sunday  morning.  It  compelled 
a  full  declaration  of  opinion  and  of  purpose.  Governor  Robinson  de- 
clared '  that  the  Topeka  Government  was  dead,  and  had  been  since  last 
June. '  Other  prominent  men  declared — some,  that  the  Free-State  offi- 
cers and  Legislature  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  if  recognized, 
25 


386  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

would  assemble,  organize,  and  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  choose  fc» 
United  States  senators,  provide  for  a  new  Constitutional  Convention, 
and  then  adjourn.  Others,  that  '  they  would  organize,  and  call  the 
Convention,  but  not  choose  senators;'  and  still  others  that  'they  should 
hold  together,  and  pass  such  laws  as  the  occasion  required,  be  they  more 
or  less.  How  the  vote  upon  the  resolution  would  have  stood,  I  know 
not ;  but  having  accomplished  my  purpose  of  drawing  out  an  open 
declaration  of  purpose,  I  withdrew  the  resolution,  and  the  meeting  ad- 
journed. On  Monday  the  Topeka  Government  formally  broke  up, 
killed  by  its  professed  friends,  deserted  by  those  who  had  created  it. 
But  the  members  went  home,  and  the  people  went  to  work  in  their  own 
way,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  issue,  as  made  up,  to  choose  delegates 
to  the  Constitutional  Convention.  This  Convention  met,  and  when  I 
say  they  elected  M.  F.  Conway  president,  it  indicates  their  complexion. 
The  instrument  you  have,  ere  this,  seen,  and  it  will  speak  for  itself.  In 
the  test  votes  on  citizenship,  etc.,  the  Lecompton  faction  showed  stead- 
ily nineteen  votes  only,  out  of  a  convention  of  eighty,  and  many  of 
those  had  succeeded  by  political  manceuvering  in  obtaining  seats. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  debates,  which  took  somewhat  of  a  wide 
range,  a  severe  blow  was  given  to  the  purpose  of  those  who  had  proposed 
to  make  any  use  whatever  of  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  if  accepted. 
The  Lecompton  Free-State  men,  mortified  and  discomfited,  have  re- 
turned home,  determined,  if  possible,  to  secure  the  offices  also  under 
this  Constitution,  and  then  let  this  one  die.  The  doctrine  of  the  people 
is  for  the  Free-State  officers  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution  to  take 
no  oath,  to  refrain  from  all  action  under  it,  but  letting  it  quietly  fall  and 
die,  to  give  place  to  the  people's  government  just  no^o  formed.  It  held 
that  under  such  circumstances  the  Federal  Government  could  have  no 
show  of  right  to  interfere,  and  all  would  end  well.  If  the  Lecompton 
Constitution  is  adopted,  and  pro-slavery  men  receive  their  certificates, 

or  enough  of  them  to  secure  their  ends,  the  boys .      If 

the  Free-State  men  get  their  certificates,  or  if  the  Constitution  is  re- 
jected, then  everything  will  depend  upon  the  character  of  the  men  elected 
under  the  new  Constitution.  If  the  right  men  are  put  in  /VT.V;-  under 
it,  then  they  will  make  it  the  living  Government  of  the  State,  and  no 
power  on  earth  can  withstand  it.  They  made  it  to  stand  by  it,  and 
for  no  boys'1  game.  But  the  Lecomptonists,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
Hunker  Conservative  Democratic  J''ree-State  men,  if  they  can  possess  its 
offices,  will  quietly  let  it  die.  They  are  strict  legitimists,  and  have  all 
at  once  a  holy  horror  of  anything  not  having  the  forms  of  law,  though 
it  be  ever  so  bogus — and  a  moral  dread  of  the  Federal  displeasure. 
They  are  seeking,  if  possible,  to  save  a  corrupt  Administration  from 
the  just  retribution  for  its  sins. 

"  You  will  easily  understand,  from  this  brief  expose,  how  important 


"ULTRA-RADICAL"    POSITION.  387 

we  ultra-radical  men  deem  it  to  have  true  men  to  fill  the  offices.  The 
people  are  right,  but  the  leaders,  or  the  would-bes,  are  wrong ;  but  you 
know  hcnv  much  tact,  money,  and  wire-pulling  can  do  to  outwit  and  defeat 
the  will  of  the  people. 

"  The  Administration,  with  Denver  as  its  agent,  will  spare  no  efforts 
to  defeat  this  movement,  and  to  clear  the  track  of  this  people's  measure, 
as  they  did  of  the  former  one.  They  have  means  at  command,  and  will 
lose  no  time  in  working  their  cards.  Our  people  are  generally  poor, 
except  in  principles,  and  are  illy  prepared  to  go  into  the  canvass.  If 
we  had  only  the  money  which  I  solicited  at  Worcester,  for  a  purpose 
for  which  it  never  was  used,  to  aid  now  in  the  election,  it  might  change 
the  result  entirely. 

"If  anything  can  be  done  for  us  in  that  way,  no  time  is  to  be  lost. 
The  State  Convention  meets  on  the  28th  to  nominate  State  officers,  and 
on  the  third  Tuesday  of  May  they  are  to  be  voted  for.  If  wrong  men 
should  secure  the  nomination,  the  field  should  be  contested  at  the  polls, 
by  volunteer  candidates,  and  they  ~i<ottld  need  money.  As  the  tragedy 
draws  to  a  close,  we  all  find  our  feelings  more  deeply  enlisted.  We 
feel  grateful  for  your  sympathy;  ior  force,  we  shall  have  no  occasion, 
I  hope,  and  if  so,  a  small  domestic  one  will  do  the  work  effectually. 
But  if  you  can  furnish  some  funds,  it  will  be  a  God-send  to  us  in  the 
present  crisis.  Send  none  to  those  but  whom  you  know  to  be  politically 
sound.  If  anything  is  done,  telegraph  to  Simmons  &  Leadbeater,  or 
to  S.  C.  Davis  &  Co.,  to  draw  upon  Boston  for  it,  and  forward  by 
express  without  delay. 

"  If  the  people's  government  is  put  in  operation,  and  the  Federal 
power  attempts  to  interfere,  there  will  be  a  desperate  struggle.  We 
shall  do  our  best  to  maintain  our  honor  and  the  right.  The  free  States 
must  call  their  Legislatures  at  once  together,  remonstrate  with  the  gen- 
eral Government,  raise  money,  raise  troops,  and  by  a  loud  demonstration 
cause  the  President  to  pause  in  his  career.  But  will  they  do  that?  I 
fear  not.  I  do,  however,  believe  that  many  a  Spartan  '  three  hundred ' 
can  be  found  here  to  fill  the  pass,  and  who  would  infinitely  prefer  to 
fall,  with  arms  in  hand,  to  a  shameful  and  ignominious  existence,  after 
having  betrayed  the  interests  of  humanity  so  basely  here  in  Kansas. 
Pardon  the  haste  and  imperfections  of  this  ;  you  can  doubtless  decipher 
it ;  the  midnight  hour  must  be  the  excuse. 

"  Very  truly  your  friend,  E.  B.  WTHITMAN." 

The  effect  of  such  a  letter  may  be  seen  by  the  following, 
sent  to  Robinson  from  one  of  the  most  devoted  friends  of 
Kansas.  Although  marked  private,  as  it  refers  only  to  mat- 
ters of  public  interest  it  may  not  be  improper  to  insert  it : 


388  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  BOSTON,  May  6,  '58. 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  The  inclosed  paper  (Whitman  and  Comvay's  circular) 
was  handed  me  by  Mr.  Stearns  yesterday,  and  has  enlightened  me  as 
to  the  use  of  the  fund  which  has  been  raised  here.  This  fund  was  to 
be  placed  in  the  Lands  of  Mr.  Conway  and  Mr.  Whitman  to  defeat  the 
adoption  of  the  Lecompton  Constitution  under  the  English  Bill.  *  *  * 
On  reading  the  Kansas  newspapers  and  this  circular,  I  see  how  matters 
are  going,  and  have  written  a  note  to  Dr.  Howe  requesting  that  my 
small  portion  of  the  money  shall  not  be  used  for  advancing  the  interest 
of  the  Lane,  Phillips,  and  Conway  party. 

"  The  world  is  made  up  of  all  sorts  of  men,  but  Kansas  seems  to 
have  more  than  its  share  of  the  weaker  brethren  and  rogues. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  AMOS  A.  LAWRENCE." 

The  nominating  convention  was  held  before  the  fate  of 
Lecompton  in  Congress  had  been  decided,  and  it  resolved 
that,  should  Lecompton  be  admitted  without  a  provision  for 
voting  upon  its  adoption  by  the  people,  the  Leavenworth 
Government  should  become  the  tie  facto  Government  of  Kan- 
sas. But  this  resolution  was  chiefly  to  operate  upon  Con- 
gress. Had  Lecompton  been  admitted,  as  the  Government 
under  it  was  Free-State  there  would  have  been  no  more 
friction  than  between  the  Topeka  State  Government  and  the 
Territorial  Legislature,  unless  the  Leavenworth  Government 
should  be  officered  by  the  "  ultra-radicals,"  like  Lane,  Whit- 
man, and  company. 

The  State  officers  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution  were 
G.  W.  Smith,  Governor;  W.  Y.  Roberts,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor; P.  C.  Schuyler,  Secretary  of  State;  A.  J.  Mead. 
Treasurer ;  Joel  K.  Goodin,  Auditor. 

The  State  officers  under  Leavenworth  were:  Governor, 
Henry  J.  Adams ;  Lieutenant  Governor,  Cyrus  K.  Holli- 
day ;  Secretary  of  State,  E.  P.  Bancroft ;  Treasurer,  J.  B. 
Wheeler ;  Auditor,  George  S.  Hillyer. 

These  officers  were  all  conservative  and  reasonable  men, 
not  one  of  whom  could  be  induced  by  Lane  or  any  one  else 
to  jeopardize  the  peace  of  the  Territory  over  a  technicality, 


CONSERVATIVE    POLICY    TRIUMPHANT.  389 

abstraction,  or  mere  matter  of  form.  It  is  safe  to  say  that, 
with  such  men  representing  the  respective  organizations, 
there  would  have  been  no  occasion  for  Whitman's  contem- 
plated war,  whatever  action  Congress  might  take.  As  has 
been  stated,  the  English  Bill  was  overwhelmingly  voted  down 
when  submitted,  and  the  political  war  came  to  an  end  with 
victory  on  the  side  of  the  conservative  Free-State  men. 
What  the  result  would  have  been  had  the  policy  of  the 
"  ultra-radicals  "  prevailed  is  mere  conjecture,  as  in  no  case 
was  it  adopted,  but  it  certainly  was  most  hazardous.  Here 
was  a  great  national  party  in  full  control  of  the  Federal  and 
territorial  Governments,  and  the  policy  adopted  from  the  Or- 
ganic Act  down  was  the  policy  of  this  party,  backed  by  the 
entire  slave  interest  of  the  country,  which  had  controlled  the 
Government  for  many  years.  For  a  handful  of  men  to  act 
offensively  against  this  power  would  have  been  as  suicidal 
as  the  assault  upon  Harper's  Ferry  proved.  But  to  have 
acquiesced  in  the  result  of  the  invasion  of  the  3oth  of  March, 
1855,  would  have  yielded  the  question  at  issue,  as,  had  the 
laws  been  recognized  and  acquiesced  in  till  the  next  general 
election,  in  1857,  slavery  would  have  been  as  firmly  estab- 
lished as  in  South  Carolina,  and  the  power  of  the  usurpation 
through  "  returning  boards  "  or  otherwise  would  have  been 
perpetual.  There  remained  but  one  way  of  escape,  and  that 
was  the  method  adopted  by  the  Free-State  party,  namely, 
to  act  strictly  on  the  defensive  as  to  the  Federal  authority, 
but  to  thwart  and  baffle  the  usurpation  till  the  Federal  au- 
thority itself  should  be  compelled  by  the  popular  outcry  to 
yield  a  fair  election  to  the  bona  fide  settlers.  This  was  the 
course  recommended  and  adopted  by  the  conservative  Free- 
State  men,  although  opposed  at  every  step  by  Lane,  Brown, 
and  other  "ultra-radicals." 

Had  the  policy  of  Whitman's  letter  to  Stearns  been 
adopted,  and  had  it  resulted,  as  he  contemplated,  in  a  war, 
the  free  States  could  not  have  been  relied  upon  in  such  an 
issue.  Instead  of  defending  constitutional  rights,  such  as  the 


390  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

possession  of  arms  or  meeting  for  consultation,  as  on  the  4th 
of  July  at  Topeka,  the  issue  would  have  been  forcible  resist- 
ance to  Federal  officers  in  maintaining  the  authority  of  the 
Federal  Government,  which  all  parties  would  recognize  as 
legitimate,  Republican  and  Democratic  alike — Sumner  and 
Seward  equally  with  Davis  and  Pierce  or  Buchanan. 

In  such  a  war  Thayer,  Lawrence,  Stearns,  Howe,  and  all 
Massachusetts  would  have  enlisted  on  the  side  of  Pierce, 
Davis,  Atchison,  and  South  Carolina,  leaving  the  "  ultra- 
radicals  "  alone  in  their  glory,  hiding  their  diminished  heads 
behind  Lane's  "breastworks"  on  the  Nebraska  line,  which 
he  so  often  visited  during  the  defensive  operations  of  the 
Free-State  party  in  1856. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

DIFFICULTIES     IN     SOUTHERN     KANSAS. MONTGOMERY     AND 

BROWN. MARAIS       DES       CYGNES       MASSACRE. BROWN'S 

PARALLELS. ARTS    OF    PEACE. 

AFTER  the  defeat  of  the  English  Bill  the  political  crises 
were  well-nigh  passed,  and  no  danger  was  to  be  feared  from 
radicals  or  conservatives,  as  neither  could  prevent  the  ad- 
mission of  Kansas  into  the  Union  as  a  free  State  by  the 
adoption  of  any  policy  however  reckless,  the  enemy  having 
abandoned  the  field.  In  fact,  after  the  arrival  of  Gear}7  the 
struggle  was  between  factions  of  Free-State  men  rather  than 
with  Slave-State  men.  It  was  well  known  that  the  latter 
could  win  only  by  fraud  and  sharp  practice,  rather  than  by 
votes ;  and  their  only  hope  was  to  take  advantage  of  any 
political  mistake  the  Free-State  men  might  make. 

Politics  subsiding,  attention  was  called  to  disturbances  in 
southern  Kansas.  This  part  of  the  Territory  had  been  more 
or  less  disturbed  since  the  Potawatomie  massacre,  but  poli- 
tics and  State-making  after  the  arrival  of  Geary  had  so  ab- 
sorbed the  interest  of  the  people  that  but  little  attention 
had  been  given  to  it.  George  W.  Clark,  the  former  Indian 
agent,  who  killed  Barber  at  the  time  of  the  Wakarusa  war, 
had  changed  his  residence  from  Douglas  to  Bourbon  County, 
where  he  was  connected  with  the  Land  Office. 

This  man  Clark  was  as  extreme  and  reckless  against 
abolitionists,  or  Free-State  men,  as  Brown  and  Montgomery 
were  against  Slave-State  men.  Land  claims  were  often  the 
pretext  for  the  disturbances,  but  undoubtedly  the  slavery 
question  had  much  influence  with  the  respective  parties; 


392  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

while  the  hordes  of  thieves  and  plunderers  cared  for  nothing 
but  deviltry  and  spoils.  The  policy  of  Brown  and  Mont- 
gomery was  not  always  in  harmony.  Montgomery  professed 
to  desire  to  protect  the  Free-State  settlers  in  their  claims, 
from  which  some  of  them  had  been  driven,  while  Brown 
wanted  war  and  revolution  pure-  and  simple.  As  early  as 
the  fall  of  1856  Clark  marched  some  men,  said  to  be  from 
Missouri,  into  Kansas,  and  Montgomery  returned  the  com- 
pliment by  visiting  Missouri  for  reprisals.  From  that  time 
there  was  no  settled  peace  till  after  the  Marais  des  Cygnes 
massacre,  by  Captain  C.  A.  Hamilton,  on  the  igih  of  May, 
1858.  This  massacre  had  but  one  parallel,  the  Potawato- 
mie,  on  May  24,  1856,  and  shocked  the  nation  with  its 
atrocity.  Patrick  Ross,  B.  L.  Reed,  William  A.  Stillwell, 
Asa  and  William  Hairgrove,  Austin  and  Amos  Hall,  William 
Colpetzer,  M.  Robinson,  Asa  Snyder,  and  John  F.  Camp- 
bell, peaceable  and  most  worthy  citizens,  were  arrested  while 
about  their  business,  marched  into  a  ravine,  drawn  up  in 
line,  and  deliberately  shot  down  like  so  many  criminals. 
Five  of  them  were  killed,  five  wounded,  and  one  unharmed, 
although  falling  with  the  others  and  feigning  death.  The 
killed  were  John  F.  Campbell,  William  Colpetzer,  Patrick 
Ross,  William  A.  Stillwell,  and  M.  Robinson. 

It  had  been  reported  that  Hamilton  had  made  out  a  list 
of  Free-State  men  intended  for  slaughter,  and  Montgomery, 
says  Andreas,  "  had  determined  to  kill  Hamilton  at  the  first 
opportunity.  To  this  end,  about  the  ist  of  May,  he  ap- 
proached Hamilton's  house,  a  log  one,  with  a  party  of  men, 
for  the  purpose  of  capturing  him  ;  but  finding  he  could  effect 
nothing  in  the  way  of  an  attack  with  rifles  alone,  he  sent  a 
squad  of  men  to  bring  the  howitzer.  But  before  it  arrived 
a  body  of  United  States  troops,  on  their  way  to  Leaven- 
worth,  were  called  to  Hamilton's  relief,  and  Montgomery 
was  obliged  to  disperse  his  men.  Montgomery  then  went 
to  the  sheriff  of  Linn  County,  acquainted  him  with  Hamil- 
ton's designs,  showed  him  the  list  of  the  proscribed  Free- 


BROWN'S    PARALLELS.  393 

State  men,  and  received  assurances  from  that  official  that 
the  men  so  proscribed  should  be  protected  from  all  harm. 
The  descent  when  made  was  made  unexpectedly.  Mont- 
gomery was  away  in  Johnson  County.  He  returned  the 
evening  of  the  day  of  the  massacre."  A  company  of  about 
two  hundred  men  was  immediately  organized  and  went  in 
pursuit,  but  Hamilton  was  never  disturbed.  One  of  his 
men,  William  Griffith,  was  afterwards  arrested,  tried,  con- 
victed, and  hanged,  Asa  Hairgrove,  one  of  the  wounded 
men,  acting  as  hangman. 

This  massacre  was  made  the  text  for  "John  Brown's 
Parallels,"  dated  at  the  Trading  Post,  January  3,  1859.  He 
had  made  his  raid  into  Missouri ;  one  old  man  was  killed 
by  one  of  his  parties,  and  eleven  slaves,  with  horses  and 
other  personal  property,  carried  or  driven  away.  His  paral- 
lel is  as  follows : 

"  TRADING  POST,  KANSAS,  January,  1859. 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  You  will  greatly  oblige  a  humble  friend  by  allowing 
the  use  of  your  columns  while  I  briefly  state  two  parallels,  in  my  poor 
way. 

"  Not  one  year  ago,  eleven  quiet  citizens  of  this  neighborhood,  viz., 
William  Robertson,  William  Colpetzer,  Amos  Hall,  Austin  Hall,  John 
Campbell,  Asa  Snyder,  \Villiam  A.  Stillvvell,  W'illiam  Hairgrove,  Asa 
Hairgrove,  Patrick  Ross,  and  B.  L.  Reed,  were  gathered  up  from  their 
work  and  their  homes  by  an  armed  force  under  one  Hamilton,  and  with- 
out trial  or  opportunity  to  speak  in  their  own  defense,  were  formed  into 
line,  and  all  but  one  shot — five  killed  and  five  wounded.  One  fell  un- 
harmed, pretending  to  be  dead.  All  were  left  for  dead.  The  only 
crime  charged  against  them  was  that  of  being  Free-State  men.  Now, 
I  inquire,  what  action  has  ever,  since  the  occurrence  in  May  last,  been 
taken  by  either  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  Governor  of 
Missouri,  the  Governor  of  Kansas,  or  any  of  their  tools,  or  by  any  pro- 
slavery  or  Administration  man,  to  ferret  out  and  punish  the  perpetrators 
of  this  crime? 

"  Now  for  the  other  parallel.  On  Sunday,  December  19,  a  negro 
man  called  Jim  came  over  to  the  Osage  settlement  from  Missouri,  and 
stated  that  he,  together  with  his  wife,  two  children,  and  another  negro 
man,  was  to  be  sold  within  a  day  or  two,  and  begged  for  help  to  get 
away.  On  Monday  (the  following)  night,  two  small  companies  were 
made  up  to  go  to  Missouri  and  forcibly  liberate  the  five  slaves,  together 


394  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

with  other  slaves.  One  of  these  companies  I  assumed  to  direct.  We 
proceeded  to  the  place,  surrounded  the  buildings,  liberated  the  slaves, 
and  also  took  certain  property  supposed  to  belong  to  the  estate. 

'  We,  however,  learned  before  leaving  that  a  portion  of  the  articles 
we  had  taken  belonged  to  a  man  living  on  the  plantation  as  a  tenant, 
and  who  was  supposed  to  have  no  interest  in  the  estate.  We  promptly 
returned  to  him  all  we  had  taken.  We  then  went  to  another  plantation, 
where  we  found  five  more  slaves,  took  some  property  and  two  white 
men.  We  moved  all  slowly  away  into  the  Territory  for  some  distance, 
and  then  sent  the  white  men  back,  telling  them  to  follow  us  as  soon  as 
they  chose  to  do  so.  The  other  company  freed  one  female  slave,  took 
some  property,  and,  as  I  am  informed,  killed  one  white  man  (the  mas- 
ter), who  fought  against  the  liberation. 

"  Now  for  a  comparison.  Eleven  persons  are  forcibly  restored  to 
their  natural  and  inalienable  rights,  with  but  one  man  killed,  and  all 
'  hell  is  stirred  from  beneath.'  It  is  currently  reported  that  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Missouri  has  made  requisition  upon  the  Governor  of  Kansas 
for  the  delivery  of  all  such  as  were  concerned  in  the  last-named  '  dread- 
ful outrage. '  The  Marshal  of  Kansas  is  said  to  be  collecting  a  posse 
of  Missouri  (not  Kansas)  men  at  West  Point  in  Missouri,  a  little  town 
about  ten  miles  distant,  to  '  enforce  the  laws.'  All  pro-slavery,  con- 
servative Free-State,  and  doughface  men,  and  Administration  tools,  are 
filled  with  holy  horror. 

"  Consider  the  two  cases,  and  the  action  of  the  Administration  party. 

"  Respectfully  yours, 

"  JOHN  HK«)\VN." 

Had  John  Brown  compared  the  Potawatomie  and  Marais 
des  Cygnes  massacres,  the  parallel  would  have  been  more 
perfect.  In  the  latter,  as  has  been  stated,  men  were  taken 
without  previous  warning,  simply  because  they  were  Free- 
State  men,  drawn  up  in  line  and  shot  down  like  dogs.  In 
the  first,  the  Potawatomie,  men  were  also  taken  without 
warning,  because  they  were  pro-slavery  men,  and  cut  to 
pieces  with  cleavers  or  short  swords. 

The  Hamilton  massacre  is  thus  described  by  Andreas: 

"  Returning  to  the  main  body,  Hamilton  ordered  a  forward  march, 
and  the  prisoners  were  led  down  to  a  canon  or  gulch  by  a  by-path  be- 
tween rocks,  single  file,  when  the  commands  were  given,  '  Halt,'  '  Front 
face,'  "Close  up,'  to  the  prisoners;  and  his  own  men  were  formed  in 
line  in  front  of  them  on  a  shelf  or  rock  about  as  wide  as  a  good  wagon 


HAMILTON'S  MASSACRE.  395 

road,  and  somewhat  higher  than  the  prisoners'  heads.  Deliberately  the 
orders  were  given  by  Captain  Hamilton,  '  Make  ready,'  '  Take  aim,' 
but  before  the  order  '  Fire '  could  be  uttered,  one  of  the  worst  of  the 
border  ruffians,  Brockett  by  name,  turned  his  horse  away,  whereupon 

Hamilton  said  to  him,  '  Brockett,  G d  d n  you,  why  don't  you 

wheel  into  line?  '     Brockett  said,  '  I'll  be  d d  if  I  will  have  anything 

to  do  with  such  a  G d  d d  piece  of  business  as  this.     If  it  was 

in  a  fight  I  would  fire.'  At  this,  Hamilton  took  out  his  revolver  and 
fired  at  the  prisoners,  giving  the  order  to  his  men  to  fire  at  the  same 
time.  Alvin  Hamilton's  gun,  which  was  aimed  at  B.  L.  Reed,  missed 
fire  the  first  time ;  Reed  not  being  hit,  turned  partly  round  to  see  his 
companions  fall,  and,  Hamilton's  gun  being  immediately  re-cocked  and 
fired,  received  the  ball  on  one  of  his  ribs  and  fell.  Thus  all  these  in- 
nocent, brave  men  were  brought  down.  On  their  part  there  was  no 
flinching  or  begging  for  quarter.  Mr.  Hairgrove,  just  before  the  order 
to  fire  was  given,  said,  '  Gentlemen,  if  you  are  going  to  shoot  us,  take 
good  aim.'  After  waiting  a  few  minutes,  Hamilton  gave  the  order  to 
his  men  to  go  down  and  see  who  were  dead,  and  to  shoot  those  who 
were  not.  Two  of  the  ruffians  went  down  among  the  fallen  and  fired 
three  shots  at  different  ones  who  gave  signs  of  life.  Amos  Hall  was 
shot  through  the  mouth.  One  said,  'Old  Reed  ain't  dead.'  'Which 
is  him?  '  was  asked.  '  Why,  there  the  old  devil  is  looking  at  you.'  But 
Pat  Ross  got  the  balls  and  he  was  killed.  Another  ruffian  said,  '  See 
that  man  humped  up,  he  ain't  dead.'  The  man  'humped  up'  was 
Austin  Hall,  and  his  body  was  perfectly  rigid.  One  of  those  finishing 
the  butchery  kicked  Mr.  Hall,  rolled  him  over,  and  remarked,  '  He's  as 
dead  as  the  devil,'  and  so  let  him  alone.  Mr.  Hall  was  the  only  man 
not  hit." 

Here  is  Hamilton's  massacre.  Can  it  be  paralleled?  It 
would  seem  impossible,  yet  Brown's  massacre  of  May  24, 
1856,  was  the  object  lesson  which  Hamilton  was  imitating. 
Some  testimony  concerning  that  massacre  reads  as  follows : 

"  On  Saturday  night  about  eleven  o'clock  on  the  24th  day  of  May 
last  (1856),  a  party  of  men  came  to  our  house  ;  we  had  all  retired ;  they 
roused  us  up,  and  told  us  that  if  we  would  surrender  they  would  not  hurt 
us.  They  said  they  were  from  the  army ;  they  were  armed  with  pistols 
and  knives ;  they  took  off  my  father  and  two  of  my  brothers,  William 
and  Drury.  We  were  all  alarmed.  They  made  inquiries  about  Mr. 
Wilkinson,  and  about  his  horses.  The  next  morning  was  Sunday,  the 
25th  of  May,  1856.  I  went  in  search  of  my  father  and  two  brothers. 
I  found  my  father  and  one  brother,  William,  lying  dead  in  the  road, 


396  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

about  two  hundred  yards  from  the  house ;  I  saw  my  other  brother  lying 
dead  on  the  ground,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  house, 
in  the  grass,  near  a  ravine ;  his  fingers  were  cut  off ;  his  head  was  cut 
open ;  there  was  a  hole  in  his  breast.  William's  head  was  cut  open, 
and  a  hole  was  also  in  his  side.  My  father  was  shot  in  the  forehead 
and  stabbed  in  the  breast.  *  *  * 

"JOHN  DOYLE." 

"That  on  Saturday,  the  24th  clay  of  May,  A.D.  1856,  about  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  after  we  had  all  retired,  my  husband,  James  P.  Doyle, 
myself,  and  five  children,  four  boys  and  one  girl,  *  *  *  We  heard 
some  persons  come  into  the  yard  and  rap  at  the  door  and  call  for 
Mr.  Doyle,  my  husband.  This  was  about  eleven  o'clock  on  Satur- 
day night  of  the  24th  of  May  last.  My  husband  got  up  and  went 
to  the  door.  Those  outside  inquired  for  Mr.  Wilkinson  and  where  he 
lived.  My  husband  told  them  that  he  would  tell  them.  Mr.  Doyle, 
my  husband,  opened  the  door,  and  several  came  into  the  house, 
and  said  they  were  from  the  army.  My  husband  was  a  pro-slavery 
man.  They  told  my  husband  that  he  and  the  boys  must  surrender, 
they  were  their  prisoners.  These  men  were  armed  with  pistols  and 
large  knives.  They  first  took  my  husband  out  of  the  house,  then  they 
took  two  of  my  sons — the  two  oldest  ones,  William  and  Drury — out, 
and  then  took  my  husband  and  these  two  boys,  William  and  Drury, 
away.  My  son  John  was  spared,  because  I  asked  them  in  tears  to 
spare  him.  In  a  short  time  afterwards  I  heard  the  report  of  pistols.  I 
heard  two  reports,  after  which  I  heard  moaning,  as  if  a  person  was  dy- 
ing ;  then  I  heard  a  wild  whoop.  They  had  asked  before  they  went 
away  for  our  horses.  We  told  them  that  the  horses  were  out  on  the 
prairie.  My  husband  and  two  boys,  my  sons,  did  not  come  back  any 
more.  I  went  out  next  morning  in  search  of  them,  and  found  my  hus- 
band and  William,  my  son,  lying  dead  in  the  road  near  together,  about 
two  hundred  yards  from  the  house.  My  other  son  I  did  not  see  any 
more  until  the  day  he  was  buried.  I  was  so  much  overcome  that  I 
went  to  the  house.  They  were  buried  the  next  day.  On  the  day  of 
the  burying  I  saw  the  dead  body  of  Drury.  Fear  of  myself  and  the 
remaining  children  induced  me  to  leave  the  home  where  we  had  been 
living.  We  had  improved  our  claim  a  little.  I  left  all  and  went  to  the 
State  of  Missouri.  her 

"  MAHAI.A    X    DOYLE." 

mark. 

"  On  the  25th  of  May  last,  somewhere  between  the  hours  of  mid- 
night and  daybreak,  cannot  say  exactly  at  what  hour,  after  all  had  re- 
tired to  bed,  we  were  disturbed  by  barking  of  the  dog.  I  was  sick  with 


BROWN'S  MASSACRE.  397 

the  measles,  and  woke  up  Mr.  Wilkinson,  and  asked  if  he  '  heard  the 
noise,  and  what  it  meant?'  He  said  it  was  only  some  one  passing 
about,  and  soon  after  was  again  asleep.  It  was  not  long  before  the  dog 
raged  and  barked  furiously,  awakening  me  once  more ;  pretty  soon  I 
heard  footsteps  as  of  men  approaching ;  saw  one  pass  by  the  window, 
and  some  one  knocked  at  the  door.  I  asked,  '  Who  is  that?  '  No  one 
answered.  I  woke  my  husband,  who  asked,  '  Who  is  that?  '  Some 
one  replied,  '  I  want  you  to  tell  me  the  way  to  Dutch  Henry's.'  He 
commenced  to  tell  them,  and  they  said  to  him,  '  Come  out  and  show  us.' 
He  wanted  to  go,  but  I  would  not  let  him  ;  he  then  told  them  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  find  his  clothes,  and  could  tell  them  as  well  without  going  out  of 
doors.  The  men  out  of  doors,  after  that,  stepped  back,  and  I  thought 
I  could  hear  them  whispering ;  but  they  immediately  returned,  and,  as 
they  approached,  one  of  them  asked  my  husband,  'Are  you  a  Northern 
armist?  '  He  said,  'I  am.'  I  understood  the  answer  to  mean  that  my 
husband  was  opposed  to  the  Northern  or  free-soil  party.  I  cannot  say 
that  I  understood  the  question.  My  husband  was  a  pro-slavery  man, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  held  at  Shawnee  Mis- 
sion. 

"  When  my  husband  said,  '  I  am,'  one  of  them  said,  '  You  are  our 
prisoner.  Do  you  surrender?  '  He  said,  '  Gentlemen,  I  do.'  They 
said,  '  Open  the  door.'  Mr.  Wilkinson  told  them  to  wait  till  he  made 
a  light ;  and  they  replied,  '  If  you  don't  open  it,  we  will  open  it  for  you.' 
He  opened  the  door  against  my  wishes,  and  four  men  came  in,  and  my 
husband  was  told  to  put  on  his  clothes,  and  they  asked  him  if  there  was 
not  more  men  about ;  they  searched  for  arms,  and  took  a  gun  and  pow- 
der-flask, all  the  weapon  that  was  about  the  house. 

"  I  Degged  them  to  let  Mr.  Wilkinson  stay  with  me,  saying  that  I 
was  sick  and  helpless,  and  could  not  stay  by  myself.  My  husband  also 
asked  them  to  let  him  stay  with  me  until  he  could  get  some  one  to  wait 
on  me ;  told  them  that  he  would  not  run  off,  but  would  be  there  the 
next  day,  or  whenever  called  for.  The  old  man,  who  seemed  to  be  in 
command,  looked  at  me  and  then  around  at  the  children,  and  replied, 
'  You  have  neighbors.'  I  said,  '  So  I  have,  but  they  are  not  here,  and 
I  cannot  go  for  them.'  The  old  man  replied,  '  It  matters  not,'  and  told 
him  to  get  ready.  My  husband  wanted  to  put  on  his  boots  and  get 
ready,  so  as  to  be  protected  from  the  damp  and  night  air,  but  they 
wouldn't  let  him.  They  then  took  my  husband  away.  One  of  them 
came  back  and  took  two  saddles ;  I  asked  him  what  they  were  going  to 
do  with  him,  and  he  said,  '  Take  him  a  prisoner  to  the  camp.'  I  wanted 
one  of  them  to  stay  with  me.  He  said  he  would,  but  '  they  would  not 
let  him.'  After  they  were  gone,  I  thought  I  heard  my  husband's  voice, 
in  complaint,  but  do  not  know ;  went  to  the  door,  and  all  was  still. 
Next  morning  Mr.  Wilkinson  was  found  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 


398  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

yards  from  the  house,  in  some  dead  brush.  A  lady  who  saw  my  hus- 
band's body  said  there  was  a  gash  in  his  head  and  in  his  side ;  others 
said  that  he  was  cut  in  the  throat  twice.  *  *  * 

"  My  husband  was  a  poor  man.  I  am  now  on  my  way  to  Tennessee 
to  see  my  father,  William  Ball,  who  lives  in  Haywood  County.  I  am 
enabled  to  go  by  the  kindness  of  friends  in  this  part  of  Missouri. 

"  Some  of  the  men  who  took  my  husband  away  that  night  were 
armed  with  pistols  and  knives.  I  do  not  recollect  whether  all  I  saw 
were  armed.  They  asked  Mr.  W.  if  McMinn  did  not  live  near.  My 
husband  was  a  quiet  man,  and  was  not  engaged  in  arresting  or  disturb- 
ing anybody.  He  took  no  active  part  in  the  pro-slavery  cause  so  as  to 
aggravate  the  abolitionists;  but  he  was  a  pro-slavery  man.  Mr.  Mc- 
Minn mentioned  above  is  a  pro-slavery  man  ;  so  also  is  the  said  Dutch 

" LOUISE  JANE  WILKINSON." 

" Old  John  Brawn  drew  his  revolver  and  shot  the  old  man  Doyle  in 
the  forehead,  and  Brown's  two  youngest  sons  immediately  fell  upon  the 
younger  Doyles  with  their  two-edged  swords. 

"  One  of  the  young  Doyles  was  stricken  down  in  an  instant,  but  the 
other  attempted  to  escape,  and  was  pursued  a  short  distance  by  his  as- 
sailant and  cut  down.  The  company  then  proceeded  down  Mosquito 
Creek  to  the  house  of  Allen  Wilkinson.  Here  the  old  man  Brown, 
three  of  his  sons,  and  son-in-law,  as  at  the  Doyle  residence,  went  to 
the  door  and  ordered  Wilkinson  to  come  out,  leaving  Frederick  Brown, 
Winer,  and  myself  standing  in  the  road,  east  of  the  house.  Wilkinson 
was  taken  and  marched  some  distance  south  of  his  house  and  slain  in 
the  road,  with  a  short  sword,  by  one  of  the  younger  Browns.  After  he 
was  killed  his  body  was  dragged  out  to  one  side  and  left. 

"  We  then  crossed  the  Potawatomie  and  came  to  the  house  of  Henry 
Sherman,  generally  known  as  Dutch  Henry.  Here  John  Brown  and 
the  party,  excepting  Frederick  Brown,  Winer,  and  myself,  who  were 
left  outside  a  short  distance  from  the  door,  went  into  the  house  and 
brought  out  one  or  two  persons,  talked  with  them  some,  and  then  took 
them  in  again.  They  afterwards  brought  out  William  Sherman,  Dutch 
Henry's  brother,  marched  him  down  into  the  Potawatomie  Creek,  where 
he  was  slain  with  swords  by  Brown's  two  youngest  sons,  and  left  lying 
in  the  creek.  *  *  *  "JAMES  TOWXSI.EY." 

The  number  killed  in  each  case  was  the  same,  five ;  and 
in  neither  case  was  the  leader  arrested  or  punished,  while  in 
one  case  one  of  the  perpetrators  was  hanged,  William 
Griffith;  and  in  the  other,  one  was  shot,  Frederick  Brown. 
Griffith  had  the  rope  placed  about  his  neck  by  Hairgrove, 


MRS.  DOYLE'S  LETTER.  399 

one  of  his  victims ;  while  Frederick  Brown  was  shot,  Au- 
gust, 1856,  by  Martin  White,  whose  house  was  fired  into 
and  whose  horses  were  stolen  by  the  Browns  in  April  of  the 
same  year.  The  atrocity  of  these  massacres  was  such  that 
it  was  but  human  for  Mrs.  Doyle,  when  John  Brown  was  to 
be  hanged  for  removing  his  Republic,  formed  in  Canada,  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  without  first  obtaining  leave  from  Federal 
authority,  to  write  this  man  as  follows : 

"  CHATTANOOGA,  TENNESSEE,  November  20,  1859. 
' '  John  Brrnvn  : 

"SiR:  Although  vengeance  is  not  mine,  I  confess  that  I  do  feel 
gratified  to  hear  that  you  were  stopped  in  your  fiendish  career  at  Har- 
per's P'erry,  'with  the  loss  of  your  two  sons.  You  can  now  appreciate 
my  distress  in  Kansas,  when  you  then  and  there  entered  my  house  at 
midnight  and  arrested  my  husband  and  two  boys,  and  took  them  out  in 
the  yard,  and  in  cold  blood  shot  them  dead  in  my  hearing.  You  can't 
say  you  did  it  to  free  our  slaves  ;  we  had  none,  and  never  expected  to 
own  one ;  but  it  only  made  me  a  poor  disconsolate  widow,  with  helpless 
children.  While  I  feel  for  your  folly,  I  do  hope  and  trust  you  will 
meet  with  your  just  reward.  Oh,  how  it  pained  my  heart  to  hear  the 
dying  groans  of  my  husband  and  children.  If  this  scrawl  gives  you  any 
satisfaction,  you  are  welcome  to  it.  „  MAHALA  DoYLE.» 

"  N.B. — My  son,  John  Doyle,  whose  life  I  begged  of  you,  is  now 
grown  up,  and  is  very  desirous  to  be  at  Charlestown  on  the  day  of  your 
execution ;  would  certainly  be  there  if  his  means  would  permit  it,  that 
he  might  adjust  the  rope  around  your  neck,  if  Governor  Wise  would 
permit.  "  M.  D." 

It  was  not  easy  to  form  a  correct  view  of  the  responsibil- 
ity for  the  outrages  of  the  spring  of  1858.  Persons  and 
newspapers  took  sides,  and  apparently  could  see  nothing  but 
good  in  one  party  and  nothing  but  evil  in  the  other.  While 
Hamilton  was  killing  Free-State  men  in  Linn  County,  May 
19,  1858,  the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  May  22d  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  Montgomery  and  his  followers : 

"  ROBBERS. 

"  On  the  nth  inst.,  about  four  o'clock  P.M.,  a  party  of  twenty  men, 
all  on  horseback,  and  well  armed,  commanded  by  Captain  Montgomery, 


400  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

from  Sugar  Mound,  rode  up  to  the  store  of  James  M.  Wflls,  at  Willow 
Springs,  in  this  county,  dismounted,  hitched  their  horses,  and  entered 
the  store.  A  lady,  apprehensive  of  the  character  of  the  movement, 
attempted  to  cut  the  horses  loose.  While  doing  so,  one  of  the  party 
came  out  with  a  revolver,  and  guarded  the  door.  The  nineteen  persons 
in  the  inside  proceeded  to  rifle  the  drawers  of  their  contents,  divested 
themselves  of  their  worn-out  or  soiled  clothing,  and  put  on  such  as  they 
could  find  to  supply  their  place;  robbed  Mr.  Wells  of  his  pocket-book, 
and  searched  him  for  his  arms  ;  then  calicoes  and  all  sorts  of  fabrics 
were  tied  up  in  buffalo  robes,  handkerchiefs,  etc.  ;  and  packages  thus 
made  up,  with  boots,  shoes,  and  numberless  other  articles,  to  the 
amount  of  between  three  and  four  hundred  dollars,  were  added  to  the 
plunder,  and  thus  loaded  they  rode  away. 

"  The  same  party  visited  Mr.  McKinney  that  night,  plundered  the 
house  of  all  the  money  they  could  find,  set  it  on  fire,  stole  a  mule  and 
horse,  and  then  rode  off.  The  fire  was  extinguished,  hence  the  house 
was  not  destroyed. 

"  On  Sunday,  the  same  party  were  seen  prowling  about  Minneola, 
and  a  descent  was  contemplated  upon  some  pro-slavery  men  in  that 
neighborhood.  The  policy  seems  to  be  to  rob,  pillage,  and  drive  out 
every  pro-slavery  man  in  Kansas,  and  Montgomery  and  his  banditti  are 
the  instrumentalities  employed  for  that  purpose. 

"  They  have  visited  Olathe,  robbing  a  store  there.  From  thence 
they  proceeded  to  Gardner  and  McCammish,  committing  depredations 
at  each  of  those  places. 

"These  same  men  have  been  prowling  about  the  Territory  for 
months,  committing  all  sorts  of  depredations,  and  keeping  the  country 
in  a  constant  ferment.  They  are,  to  a  great  extent,  responsible  for  the 
troubles  around  Fort  Scott.  We  have  heard  of  them  repeatedly,  and 
been  told  of  their  visiting  private  residences,  compelling  families  to  rise 
at  midnight  and  cook  meals  for  them,  and  then  renewing  their  journey 
and  visiting  some  new  place,  where  the  same  excesses  are  repeated. 
Horses,  guns,  revolvers,  etc.,  are  almost  invariably  taken  wherever 
found ;  and  in  some  instances  drafts  have  been  drawn  upon  Government 
officials  to  pay  for  articles  thus  taken.  Several  stores  have  been  pil- 
laged, and  the  money  or  proceeds  have  gone  to  enrich  these  freebooters. 

"  In  the  letter  of  Mr.  Whitman,  which  we  publish  this  week,  this 
band  of  land  pirates  are  thus  undoubtedly  alluded  to : 

' '  '  We  feel  grateful  for  your  sympathy ;  and  for  force  we  shall  have 
no  occasion,  I  hope ;  but  if  so,  a  small  domestic  one  will  do  the  work 
effectually!' 

"  We  have  said,  time  and  time  again,  that  the  policy  of  Lane,  Con- 
way  and  company  was  to  embroil  this  Territory  in  civil  strife.  Here 
is  the  proof.  Here  are  the  overt  acts  of  a  set  of  scoundrels  who  are 


MONTGOMERY'S    RAID.  401 

plundering  stores  and  dwellings  in  open  day,  and  committing  violence 
upon  the  inhabitants.  An  individual  is  marked  by  them  for  destruction, 
the  fiat  goes  forth,  and  he  disappears — where,  no  one  can  tell.  His 
property  is  confiscated,  and  thus  one  after  another  of  our  population 
is  wiped  out. 

"  We  are  frank  to  confess  that  we  have  no  love  for  these  things. 
They  must  be  stopped,  and  immediately,  else  civil  war  must  follow. 
Life  nor  property  is  safe!  The  horrors  of  1856  are  being  inaugurated. 
A  guerrilla  party,  in  the  time  of  profound  peace — their  object,  plunder 
— is  among  us.  What  shall  be  done?  Should  not  the  people  meet  for 
advisement,  and  pledge  themselves  to  each  other  to  stop  this  high- 
handed procedure  at  once,  and  declare  all  persons  outlaws  who  are 
known  to  be  engaged  with  such  parties?  *  *  * 

"Can't  something  be  done  to  stop  this  robbing  of  men  in  various 
parts  of  the  Territory?  If  there  is  no  other  way,  a  company  of  reliable 
men  should  be  organized,  whose  province  it  should  be  to  ferret  them 
out  and  shoot  them  down  like  dogs.  These  men  constitute  a  regular 
banditti,  organized  to  rob  and  plunder,  and  they  deserve  any  punish- 
ment which  an  outraged  public  are  disposed  to  bestow  upon  them. 
The  people  of  the  various  towns  should  hold  meetings,  and  band  to- 
gether to  put  an  end  to  this." 

By  comparing  dates  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  while 
Montgomery  was  thus  engaged  in  Johnson  and  Douglas 
Counties  the  Hamilton  massacre  occurred. 

To  show  the  partisan  spirit  of  the  times,  the  following 
quotations  are  made  from  the  Herald  of  Freedom  and  Law- 
rence Republican.  The  editors  of  these  papers  were  among 
the  ablest  ever  in  Kansas,  and  were  doubtless  sincere  and 
meant  to  be  truthful,  but  viewed  matters  from  different 
standpoints  and  received  their  information  from  opposing 
factions : 

"  But  those  men  who  desired  revolution,  who  had  been  sojourning 
for  a  whole  year  in  Kansas,  and  living  upon  funds  sent  here  by  the 
benevolent  in  the  East  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  destitute — they  suddenly 
appeared  upon  the  southern  border,  and  upon  the  most  flimsy  pretext 
plunged  the  country  again  in  blood.  The  fiery  eloquence  of  some  of 
the  leaders  of  that  warlike  expedition  has  been  previously  detailed,  when 
the  convention  of  the  22d  and  23d  of  December,  1857,  was  in  session! 
Our  readers  too  well  remember  the  destruction  of  the  ballot-box  by 
Montgomery  at  Sugar  Mound,  and  the  drawing  of  knives  and  revolvers 
26 


402  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

at  Clinton  on  those  who  wished  to  vote  for  officers  under  the  Lecomp- 
ton  Constitution  to  defeat  its  action,  and  all  the  various  expedients  then 
resorted  to  to  kindle  a  flame  in  southern  Kansas  ;  how  party  alter  party 
left  Lawrence,  taking  with  them  our  brass  howitzer,  and  subsisting  by 
pillage,  and  returning  in  due  time  with  stolen  horses.  These  expedi- 
tions were  all  sustained  by  Red  path  and  his  associates,  and  the  Law- 
rence Republican,  Leavenworth  Times  and  Crusader  of  Freedom  were 
the  organs  of  those  forays.  *  *  * 

"  But  it  is  denied  that  the  objects  of  Redpath,  Lane,  Thacher, 
Vaughan,  Conway,  et  omne  genus,  were  revolutionary,  and  when  we 
make  these  charges  against  them  they  only  resist  by  pronouncing  them 
false.  We  assert  before  Heaven,  that  the  plan  of  a  servile'  negro  in- 
surrection on  the  border  of  Missouri  was  divulged  to  us  by  a  leading 
Free-State  man  while  a  prisoner  near  Lecompton,  in  the  summer  of 
1856;  and  that  it  was  designed  to  be  participated  in  by  Free-State  men 
in  Kansas,  who  were  to  furnish  arms  and  counsel ;  and  that  it  was  de- 
signed to  extend  until  the  whole  Union  should  become  involved  in  it, 
and  a  dissolution  should  follow,  and  American  slavery  be  wiped  out  in 
blood.  \Ve  assert,  further,  that  we  resolved  to  stem  this  tide,  though 
it  should  cost  us  our  life;  and  when  the  Herald  of  Freedom  was  revived 
in  the  fall  of  that  year,  we  several  times  showed  what  our  position  would 
be  in  a  contest  of  this  character.  The  whole  movement  on  our  southern 
border  has  been  a  carrying  out  of  the  programme  of  the  revolutionists, 
and  our  hostility  to  it  is  but  m  furtherance  of  the  position  taken  in  '56. 
The  evidence  is  indubitable  that  Captain  Brown  came  on  from  the  East, 
endorsed  by  prominent  disunionists,  to  head  a  revolutionary  movement, 
and  he  only  left  the  Territory,  as  Redpath  had  done  before  him,  when 
all  hopes  of  success  had  failed. 

"  We  are  conscious  that  our  positions  are  bold  and  startling  to  many, 
and  perhaps  will  be  believed  by  but  few ;  yet  we  have  evidence  which 
will  be  satisfactory  to  any  one,  and  would  establish  the  fact  before  any 
intelligent  jury. 

"It  is  well  established  that  Thacher,  Vaughan,  Conway,  Phillips, 
Hinton,  Redpath,  old  Brown,  Montgomery,  Lane,  etc.,  all  co-operated 
in  their  views,  and  all  worked  together  in  advocacy  of  the  various  posi- 
tions  which  have  come  before  the  country  since  1856;  and  all  have  been 
opposing  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  Kansas  problem.  *  *  * 

"  It  is  but  the  work  of  a  moment  to  connect  the  persons  whose 
names  are  given  above  in  a  common  enterprise,  and  that  t<>  pn>l<n 
Kansas  troubles  to  the  latest  possible  period.  True,  Lane  and  Redpath 
fell  out,  still  it  was  not  because  they  did  not  agree  in  '  the  great  crti.-ade 
for  freedom,'  as  they  called  it,  but,  as  Redpath  claimed,  because  he 
could  not  enter,  heart  and  soul,  into  Lane's  plans  of  private  assassina- 
tion. 


"HERALD    OF    FREEDOM"    AND    "REPUBLICAN."          403 

"  Redpath  has  just  published  a  book  entitled  '  The  Roving  Editor, 
or  Talks  with  Slaves  in  the  Southern  States,'  published  by  A.  B.  Bur- 
dick,  New  York.  The  work  is  dedicated  to  '  Old  John  Brown.'  Turn- 
ing to  page  300,  we  find  the  following  paragraph,  which  we  copy  ver- 
batim and  entire : 

"  '  I  believed  that  a  civil  war  between  the  North  and  South  would 
ultimate  in  insurrection,  and  that  the  Kansas  troubles  would  probably 
create  a  military  conflict  of  the  sections.  Hence,  I  left  the  South,  and 
went  to  Kansas  ;  and  endeavored,  personally  and  by  my  pen,  to  precipi- 
tate a  revolution.  That  we  failed,  for  I  was  not  alone  in  this  desire,  was 
owing  to  the  influence  of  prominent  Republican  statesmen,  whose  un- 
fortunate conservative  character  of  counsel,  which  it  was  impossible 
openly  to  resist,  effectually  baffled  all  our  hopes — hopes  which  Demo- 
cratic action  was  auspiciously  promoting.'  " — Herald  of  Freedom. 

"  HOW   STANDS   THE   RECORD? 

"  After  an  excited  and  heated  contest,  with  the  clearing  away  of  the 
smoke  and  the  cessation  of  the  din  of  strife,  men  naturally  wish  to  know 
whether  they  have  made  a  drawn  battle  or  proved  triumphant.  With 
no  feeling  of  exultation  or  overbearing  triumph,  we  desire  to  review  the 
position  which  the  Republican  took  with  regard  to  the  Southern 
troubles,  and  know  whether  we  were  justly  subjected  to  the  railing  and 
offensive  accusations  of  the  Lecompton  Democrat  and  kindred  journals, 
both  in  this  place  and  elsewhere  in  the  Territory. 

"  After  Denver  had  visited  southern  Kansas,  we  understood  from  a 
hundred  different  sources  that  the  basis  of  the  settlement  of  the  troubles 
there  was  the  blotting  out  of  the  past,  the  opening  of  new  books,  and  a 
clean  page  to  start  anew  with.  The  people  there,  we  know,  understood, 
the  settlement  that  way.  In  the  popular  language  of  Linn  and  Bourbon 
counties,  we  believed  '  by-gones  were  to  be  by-gones.'  We  honestly 
understood  the  settlement  in  this  way  ;  and  when  hostilities  broke  out 
there,  we  frankly  stated  it  to  be  the  result  of  the  infringement  of  the 
Denver  treaty.  At  this  statement  a  great  howl  was  raised  by  the  pro- 
slavery  organs,  charging  us  with  being  supporters  of  'jay-hawkers,' 
'murderers,'  'outlaws,'  and  Heaven  knows  what  all.  Well,  we  pa- 
tiently endured  abuses,  and,  though  traduced,  answered  not. 

' '  A  copy  of  the  treaty  was  flung  in  our  face,  and  we  were  told, 
'  Read  that  and  be  abashed!'  Well,  it  was  a  staggering  document,  and 
we  could  only  reply,  '  The  people  in  Linn  and  Bourbon  counties  un- 
derstood the  treaty  as  we  have  given  it.' 

"  At  last,  Truth,  slower  of  foot  by  one-half  than  Error,  makes  her 
appearance.  It  seems  there  was  a  treaty,  the  treaty,  which  distinctly 
gave  the  people  there  to  understand  that  the  past  should  be  buried — 


404  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

that  all  things  should  be  made  new.  This  was  what  the  people  under- 
stood. Then  there  was  the  written  treaty,  which  we  published  some 
weeks  ago.  It,  of  course,  contained  no  clause  blotting  out  the  past, 
since  Governor  Denver  would  hardly  dare  to  go  so  far  as  that ;  for  al- 
though the  only  way  to  secure  peace,  yet  to  the  uninitiated,  to  the  out- 
siders, it  would  have  borne  a  bad  look.  But  that  he  assured  the  people 
that  they  should  not  be  harassed  by  the  past,  we  are  assured  by  the 
most  undoubted  testimony. 

' '  When  this  agreement  was  violated,  we  protested  against  it.  For 
the  sake  of  peace,  we  insisted  upon  the  religious  observance  of  the 
Denver  compact.  Our  voice  was  not  heeded.  The  past  was  harrowed 
up ;  old  offenders  and  outlaws  were  invited  to  come  back ;  peaceful 
settlers  were  harassed  with  the  fear  of  indictments  and  prosecutions. 
The  country  was  alive  with  excitement.  Our  readers  know  what  fol- 
lowed. Troops  marched  and  remarched ;  Missourians  enlisted  into 
posses ;  men  were  hunted  down  like  wolves  or  rabid  dogs,  and  houses 
were  rifled  in  the  name  of  peace.  And  now  comes  the  close. 

"  The  Legislature  step  in  and  authoritatively  declare,  as  Denver  and 
the  people  had  declared  nine  months  before,  '  By-gones  shall  be  by- 
gones.' They  who  had  clamored  loudest  for  vengeance  upon  Mont- 
gomery and  the  people  were  the  most  earnest  in  procuring  the  passage 
of  the  'Amnesty  Act.' 

"  With  this  review  we  close,  sincerely  hoping  this  is  the  last  article 
we  shall  ever  be  called  upon  to  pen  respecting  troubles  in  southern 
Kansas. " — Lawrence  Republican . 

After  the  massacre  by  Hamilton  both  parties  were  struck 
with  terror,  and  the  people,  irrespective  of  party,  cried  for  a 
cessation  of  this  mode  of  warfare.  Governor  Denver,  early 
in  June,  visited  southern  Kansas,  arriving  at  Fort  Scott  on 
the  1 3th.  He  had  invited  Judge  J.  W.  Wright  and  Robin- 
son to  accompany  him.  A  mass  meeting  was  held  on  the 
1 4th,  which  was  attended  by  both  parties.  After  speeches 
by  Governor  Denver,  Wright,  Ransom,  and  Robinson,  a 
settlement  was  effected.  The  old  county  officers  were  asked 
to  resign  and  new  ones  were  selected  by  a  vote  of  the  people 
present,  and  Governor  Denver  appointed  them.  It  was 
recommended  that  old  scores  should  be  forgotten,  although 
the  written  agreement  left  all  criminal  matters  to  the  grand 
jury.  Montgomery  did  not  meet  Governor  Denver,  although 
he  talked  with  Wright  and  Robinson  and  expressed  himself 


BROWN'S    RETURN  TO    KANSAS.  405 

as  much  pleased  with  the  settlement.  A  military  company, 
commanded  by  Captain  Weaver,  was  furnished  to  keep  the 
peace,  and  for  several  months  quiet  reigned.  At  length 
some  men  procured  the  indictment  of  a  Free-State  man 
named  Rice  for  an  old  offense  and  had  him  arrested. 
Montgomery  claimed  that  this  was  in  violation  of  the  under- 
standing, and  gathered  his  forces  again.  By  this  time  John 
Brown  had  returned  to  southern  Kansas,  because  of  an  ex- 
posure to  Senator  Wilson  and  others  of  his  plans  to  attack 
Virginia,  by  his  drill-master,  Hugh  Forbes. 

In  Cook's  confession  another  reason  is  given  for  Brown's 
visit  to  Kansas  in  1858.  Cook  says: 

"  In  his  [Brown's]  trip  East  he  did  not  realize  the  amount  of  money 
that  he  expected.  The  money  had  been  promised  bona  JiJe,  but  owing 
to  the  tightness  of  the  money  market  they  failed  to  comply  with  his  de- 
mands. The  funds  were  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  plans. 
I  afterwards  learned  that  there  was  a  lack  of  confidence  in  his  scheme. 
It  was  therefore  necessary  that  a  movement  should  be  made  in  an- 
other direction,  to  demonstrate  the  practicability  of  his  plan.  This  he 
made  about  a  year  ago,  by  his  invasion  of  Missouri,  and  the  taking  of 
about  a  dozen  slaves,  together  with  horses,  cattle,  etc.,  into  Kansas, 
in  defiance  of  the  United  States  marshal  and  his  posse.  From  Kansas 
he  took  them  to  Canada  ria  Iowa  City  and  Cleveland.  At  the  latter 
place  he  remained  some  days,  and,  I  think,  disposed  of  his  horses  there. 
It  seems  that  the  United  States  marshal  was  afraid  to  arrest  him,  and 
this  was  all  that  was  wanting  to  give  confidence  to  the  wavering  in  the 
practicability  of  his  plan  and  its  ultimate  success." 

His  men  were  on  hand,  including  Kagi,  his  secretary  of 
war.  Montgomery  kept  Brown  in  the  background,  as,  he 
said,  if  he  should  have  command  there  would  not  be  left 
one  stone  upon  another  of  Fort  Scott.  The  town  was  en- 
tered, Rice  rescued,  and  Mr.  Little  killed,  and  his  store 
robbed  of  $7000  worth  of  goods.  From  this  time  until  the 
passage  of  the  amnesty  law  by  the  Legislature  anarchy 
reigned  supreme,  and  thieves,  robbers,  and  murderers  plied 
their  calling  with  great  success.  John  Brown  and  his  party 
were  in  their  glory.  In  December  he  made  his  trip  to  Mis- 


406  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

souri  and  brought  back  with  him  eleven  slaves,  some  horses, 
oxen,  and  other  property,  one  man  being  killed. 

(ieorge  A.  Crawford,  a  Free-State  Democrat  of  Fort  Scott, 
had  an  interview  with  Brown  about  this  raid,  and  wrote  the 
following  to  Eli  Thayer  : 

"  As  to  the  raid  into  Missouri,  it  was  made  on  the  2Oth  December, 
1858,  four  clays  after  the  raid  into  Fort  Scott.  It  was  led  by  Captain 
Brown  in  person.  Captain  Montgomery  refused  to  go  along — pro- 
tested, as  I  have  understood,  against  it — but  came  to  the  aid  of  the 
Kansas  settlers  when  retaliatory  raids  were  afterwards  expected.  The 
Captain's  company  marched  down  the  Little  Osage  River,  in  the  north 
part  of  this  county,  and  about  twelve  miles  from  here,  and  proceeded 
into  Vernon  County,  Missouri,  a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles. 

"  The  Missouri  Democrat  of  December  30,  1858,  gave  the  Missouri 
statement  of  the  losses.  I  presume  it  is  correct.  Files  of  other  papers 
of  the  period  would  show.  It  states  that  they  '  murdered '  David  Crews 
(or  Cruise),  '  kidnapped  a  negro  woman,'  took  wagon,  horses,  etc., 
and  robbed  Mr.  Martin  and  family  of  a  fine  mule ;  took  from  the  estate 
of  James  Lawrence,  in  possession  of  his  son-in-law,  Henry  Hicklin, 
five  negroes,  two  horses,  one  yoke  of  cattle,  an  ox-wagon,  a  double- 
barrel  shot-gun,  saddle,  and  clothing.  From  Isaac  B.  LaRue,  five 
negroes,  six  horses,  one  yoke  of  cattle,  clothing,  and  took  prisoners 
whom  they  released. 

"  In  the  conversation  to  which  I  have  alluded,  Captain  Brown  said 
he  had  sent  the  slaves  on  to  their  freedom ;  that  they  had  earned  the 
property  of  their  masters ;  and  that  his  young  men  were  entitled  to  for- 
age to  the  extent  of  their  subsistence.  He  denied  the  current  rumor 
that  the  slaves  had  been  taken  away  by  violence  and  against  their  will. 

"  As  to  the  killing  of  Cruise,  he  said  that  he  had  given  strict  orders 
for  the  careful  use  of  the  guns  ;  and  that  there  should  be  no  firing  un- 
less resistance  was  offered.  He  had  divided  his  men  into  two  squads, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  stream.  In  the  house  of  Cruise  one  of  his 
quick-blooded  young  men,  supposing  that  Cruise  was  about  to  draw  a 
weapon,  had  fired,  killing  him  instantly.  I  inferred  that  the  Captain 
was  not  present.  He  claimed  to  have  reprimanded  the  young  man  for 
his  haste. 

"Cruise  was  a  good  citizen — a  plain,  unoffending  farmer.  It  was 
reported  that  he  had  no  weapons  on  his  person.  The  killing  of  him 
was  an  unjustifiable  outrage,  and  it  subjected  our  settlements  to  great 
danger  from  retaliatory  measures. 

"  I  protested  to  the  Captain  against  this  violence.  We  were  settlers, 
he  was  not.  He  could  strike  a  blow  and  leave.  The  retaliatory  blow 


CRAWFORD    TO    THAYER.  407 

would  fall  on  us.  Being  a  Free-State  man,  I  myself  was  held  person- 
ally responsible  by  pro-slavery  ruffians  in  Fort  Scott  for  the  acts  of 
Captain  Brown. 

"  One  of  these  ruffians,  Brockett,  when  they  gave  me  notice  to  leave 
the  town,  said :  '  When  a  snake  bites  me,  I  don't  go  hunting  for  that 
particular  snake.  I  kill  the  first  snake  I  come  to.' 

"  I  called  Captain  Brown's  attention  to  the  facts  that  we  were  at 
peace  with  Missouri;  that  our  Legislature  was  then  in  the  hands  of 
Free-State  men  to  make  the  laws ;  that  even  in  our  disturbed  counties 
of  Bourbon  and  Linn  we  were  in  a  majority,  and  had  elected  the  offi- 
cers both  to  make  and  execute  the  laws  ;  that  without  peace  we  could 
have  no  immigration  ;  that  no  Southern  immigration  was  coming ;  that 
agitation  such  as  his  was  only  keeping  our  Northern  friends  away, 
etc. 

"  The  old  man  replied  that  it  was  no  pleasure  to  him,  an  old  man, 
to  be  living  in  the  saddle,  away  from  home  and  family,  and  exposing 
his  life ;  and  if  the  Free-State  men  of  Kansas  felt  they  no  longer  needed 
him,  he  would  be  glad  to  go. 

"  He  seemed  very  erratic — at  war  with  all  our  accustomed  ideas  on 
the  slavery  question — but  very  earnest. 

"  I  think  the  conversation  made  an  impression  on  him,  for  he  soon 
alter  went  to  his  self-sacrifice  at  Harper's  Ferry. 

"  Yours, 

"GEORGE  A.  CRAWFORD." 

The  nature  of  the  difficulties  in  southern  Kansas  is  thus 
set  forth  by  two  correspondents  in  the  Herald  of  Freedom  of 
January  8,  1859  : 

"THE    DIFFICULTIES   SOUTH. 

"  A  friend  writes  us  from  Mound  City,  Linn  County,  on  the  26th 
ult.,  in  which  he  says  : 

'  '  I  regret  to  observe  that  there  are  newspapers  in  Kansas,  whose 
editors  profess  to  be  governed  by  principle,  which  continue  to  uphold 
the  crimes  daily  perpetrated,  by  sustaining  highway  robbery,  murder, 
and  the  expulsion  of  our  population  from  Kansas,  because  of  a  mere 
difference  of  opinion.  These  journals  have  done  more  to  prolong  our 
troubles  than  all  other  causes.  If  such  editors  have  no  sense  of  moral 
justice,  and  cannot  be  influenced  otherwise,  the  indignation  of  the  whole 
country  should  be  roused  against  them. 

'  '  I  have  lived  in  Linn  County  since  October,  1855,  and  have  seen 
enough  of  crimes  of  every  grade,  perpetrated  both  by  night  and  day,  to 
satisfy  any  man  not  steeped  in  crime.  Little  did  I  think,  in  '56,  that 


408  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

professedly  Free-State  men  would  be  guilty  of  the  same  crimes  for 
which  we  denounced  the  pro-slavery  men  of  that  year,  and  which  raised 
such  a  storm  throughout  the  nation. 

"  '  Men  of  sense  ought  to  know  that  the  daily  repetition  of  crime 
will  never  restore  peace.  They  ought  to  know  that  outrage  begets  out- 
rage, and  the  longer  it  is  continued  the  farther  we  are  from  an  honorable 
and  peaceful  adjustment  of  our  difficulties. 

"  '  Your  comments  on  the  late  Convention  here  were  very  just. 
Though  it  was  agreed  that  the  troubles  should  cease,  and  all  parties 
should  lay  down  their  arms,  yet  the  Montgomery  faction,  in  the  face  of 
that  compromise,  raised  a  body  ot  men,  marched  to  Fort  Scott,  liberated 
a  prisoner  there  under  indictment  by  a  Free-State  grand  jury  for  murder, 
robbed  a  store  of  some  five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods,  rifled 
trunks  of  their  contents,  and  shot  down  one  of  the  citizens  of  the  town, 
and  held  others  prisoners  as  long  as  it  suited  their  caprice.  I  confess 
I  cannot  see  the  difference  between  those  crimes  committed  by  these 
Free-State  men,  and  the  burning  of  hotels  and  dwellings,  the  destroy- 
ing of  printing-offices,  and  the  outrages  in  Lawrence  in  May  of  '56. 
It  only  proves  that  human  nature,  under  the  influence  of  a  bad  heart,  is 
about  the  same  everywhere. 

"  '  The  ordering  off  of  citizens,  the  stealing  of  horses,  mules,  and 
cattle,  the  plundering  of  houses,  and  the  stealing  of  negroes  still  goes 
on,  and  will,  until  the  strong  arm  of  the  law  is  made  effective  against 
crime  and  violence.' 

"  Another  gentleman,  a  clergyman,  writing  us  from  the  vicinity  of 
Moneka,  says : 

"  '  I  have  watched  the  progress  of  these  troubles  here  until  I  am 
sick,- heart-sick  with  humanity.  Here  are  men  claiming  to  be  Chris- 
tians, and  even  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  who  profess  to  be  guided  in 
their  actions  by  the  teaching  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  who  have  organ- 
ized a  body  of  murderers,  robbers,  gamblers,  and  horse-thieves,  and 
subsisting  by  plunder,  they  are  riding  over  the  country  and  committing 
the  basest  of  crimes.  If  this  is  Christianity,  anything  would  be  prefer- 
able to  it;  but  it  is  not!  Christ  taught  no  such  sentiments,  but  the 
reverse ! 

"  '  The  strangest  of  all  is  to  see  peace  men,  those  in  the  States  who 
were  members  of  peace  societies,  and  who  were  sending  delegates  t<> 
peace  congresses,  laboring  to  inaugurate  civil  war,  with  the  exp- 
object  of  working  a  revolution  throughout  the  nation,  ultimating  in  a 
dissolution  of  the  Union;  and  all  to  procure  the  emancipation  of  the 
slave.  Simple  men!  They  should  learn  that  revolutions  involving 
such  grave  consequences  are  not  usually  set  on  foot  by  murderers  and 
thieves.  Though  Brutus  triumphed  over  the  dead  corpse  of  Ccesar,  yet 
it  is  not  believed  that  in  this  age  of  enlightenment  a  few  ignoramuses 


SHERIFF    WALKER'S    REPORT.  409 

and  desperadoes  of  the  character  of  those  in  this  county  can  succeed  in 
crushing  out  slavery,  and  with  it  American  freedom. 

"  '  We  thank  you  most  heartily  for  the  manly  and  independent 
course  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom  throughout  this  protracted  contest.  It 
has  been  a  terror  to  those  wretches  who  have  been  involved  in  those 
crimes,  and  has  been  the  only  restraint  which  has  been  exerted  over 
them.  Had  other  journalists  showed  the  same  spirit  and  devotion  to 
the  right,  our  troubles  would  have  ended  a  year  ago ;  but  while  Mont- 
gomery and  his  followers  are  backed  up  by  the  hireling  press,  so  long 
will  he  continue  to  ride  rough-shod  over  the  country,  setting  the  laws 
at  defiance,  and  stamping  his  iron  heel  into  the  breasts  of  his  victims ; 
so  long  will  all  right  be  disregarded,  and  our  beautiful  country,  the 
loveliest  heaven  has  ever  smiled  upon,  will  be  the  home  of  an  organized 
banditti  as  desolating  in  its  consequences  as  were  those  of  Spain  or 
Italy  in  the  darkest  period  of  the  world's  history.' " 

The  Herald  of  Freedom  of  January  i,  1859,  makes  this 
comment  upon  Colonel  Samuel  Walker's  report  of  his  trip : 

"FROM   THE   SOUTH. 

"  Captain  Samuel  Walker,  the  present  sheriff  of  Douglas  County,  a 
gentleman  whose  word  was  never  contradicted  Jby  any  party,  has  just 
returned  from  a  visit  to  Linn  and  Bourbon  counties,  where  he  has  been 
on  a  commission  from  the  Governor,  inquiring  into  the  truth  of  the 
difficulties  in  that  quarter.  His  recital  of  outrages  practiced  by  the 
Montgomery  faction  upon  persons  there  is  enough  to  draw  tears  from 
the  eyes  of  any  one  not  hardened  in  crime.  Outrages,  he  states,  have 
been  committed  by  those  desperadoes  equalling  in  atrocity  those  of  the 
vilest  border  ruffians  in  the  campaign  of  1856.  Captain  Walker  states 
that  there  has  been  a  great  revulsion  in  public  sentiment  there  within 
the  last  few  weeks.  Everywhere  he  met  men  who  had  sustained  Mont- 
gomery in  the  past,  who  now  say  they  can  do  it  no  longer.  He  has 
gathered  about  him  all  the  desperadoes  of  the  Free-State  party,  and 
they  live  by  plunder  and  crime.  No  man  is  safe  among  them.  At 
Fort  Scott  the  Captain  found  the  whole  country  gathering  in  there  with 
their  property,  to  protect  themselves  from  these  freebooters.  The  pro- 
fessed object  of  this  banditti  is  to  inaugurate  a  civil  war  and  bring  on  a 
dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  to  that  end  all  their  exertions  are  directed. 

' '  We  hear  from  other  sources  that  Captain  Brown  is  a  compeer  of 
Montgomery,  and  that  only  a  few  days  ago  he  made  a  marauding  ex- 
pedition into  Missouri,  and  after  committing  various  '  excesses,'  armed 
a  party  of  slaves,  mounted  them  on  horses,  and  marched  them  over  into 
Kansas.  Thus  outrage  after  outrage  is  committed,  and  newspapers 


410  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

professing  respectability  endorse  them,  and  urge  on  their  perpetrators  to 
the  commission  of  greater  crimes." 

January  15,  1859,  the  Herald  of  Freedom  gives  what  it 
calls  "  a  review  "  of  the  troubles,  as  follows  : 

"A    REVIEW. 

"  The  fire-eating  portion  of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  and  the  ex- 
treme radicals  in  general,  who  are  sustaining  Montgomery  in  his  mur- 
derous movements  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Territory,  are  now  rejoic- 
ing over  the  fact  that  the  quasi-general  Eane  has  written  a  letter  to 
Governor  Medary,  informing  that  gentleman  that  if  the  Governor  will 
invest  him  with  authority  for  that  purpose,  he  will  go  South,  take 
Montgomery  and  Brown,  or  any  of  their  command,  and  bring  them  to 
Lawrence,  or  wherever  the  Governor  may  direct,  and  that  without  the 
aid  of  apc'sse,  or  any  assistance  whatever.  How  this  may  appear  to 
others,  we  cannot  say,  but  to  us  it  is  conclusive  evidence  of  the  com- 
plicity of  Lane  in  those  disturbances.  He  commissioned  Montgomery 
upwards  of  a  year  ago,  and  set  him  to  work  in  southern  Kansas  to  fight 
pro-slavery  men.  Lane  visited  that  quarter  in  person,  anil  pretended 
to  be  the  '  commander-in-chief  of  the  military  forces  of  Kansas.'  There 
is  not  a  doubt  but  that  he  directed  the  original  movements  in  that  quar- 
ter. Many  of  our  readers  will  remember  his  celebrated  coup  d"1  ctat  on 
the  evening  of  the  22d  of  December,  1857,  at  the  territorial  convention 
then  in  session  in  Lawrence,  when  an  express  from  Lane's  army  en- 
tered that  convention,  and  announced,  almost  breathless,  that  '  war  has 
actually  begun.'  '  Why  will  you  stand  here,'  he  said,  '  and  talk  about 
voting  for  officers  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  thinking  thereby 
to  defeat  it,  when  your  brethren  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Territory 
are  already  in  arms?  It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  here  to  rush  at  once 
to  the  scene  of  the  contest,  and  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  General  Lane 
and  his  able  associates,  Captain  Montgomery  and  others,  drive  back  the 
invaders  of  our  Territory  to  the  State  from  which  they  came.'  And 
with  a  peroration  worthy  of  Patrick  Henry  in  the  most  trying  hour  of 
our  revolutionary  history,  his  arm  extended  to  heaven,  his  voice  gently 
raised,  and  every  gesture  adapted  to  the  sublime  occasion,  he  declared, 
'  I  would  sooner  cut  off  my  right  arm  than  cast  a  vote  for  any  officer 
under  that  constitution.' 

"  It  was  then,  when  the  excitement  was  at  its  height,  and  'Inton 
stood  on  tiptoe,  swinging  his  hat,  and  hallooing  with  all  his  might,  and 
the  lesser  lights,  such  as  Thacher,  Phillips  and  Company,  were  echoing 
the  shout,  that  S.  X.  Wood  stepped  forward,  his  patriotism  appar- 
ently swelled  to  the  sticking-point,  and  called  for  volunteers  to  start  the 


"HERALD    OF    FREEDOM'S"    REVIEW.  411 

next  morning  towards  Fort  Scott,  to  stand  by  General  Lane  and  his 
brave  comrades,  in  their  extremity.  The  messenger  reported  the  men 
suffering  for  the  necessaries  of  life!  They  needed  guns,  and  munitions 
of  war  of  all  descriptions,  and  at  that  hour  mostly  provisions.  Said  he : 
'  I  divided  my  last  biscuit  with  some  of  these  men  this  morning,  and 
have  ridden  eighty  miles  without  hardly  getting  out  of  my  saddle,  to  bring 
you  this  startling  intelligence.'  Mr.  Wood  was  more  enthusiastic  in 
calling  for  volunteers  than  usual.  He  recapitulated  what  the  messenger 
had  said.  That  whole  convention,  consisting  of  what  purported  to  be 
delegates  from  every  part  of  the  Territory,  called  together  at  an  inclem- 
ent season  to  consult  upon  the  destinies  of  the  Territory,  with  free- 
dom or  slavery  before  it,  was  suspended  in  its  action  while  these  war 
incidents  were  being  enacted,  but  Mr.  Wood  could  get '  nary  '  volunteer. 
Dr.  Robinson,  who  was  chairman  of  the  convention,  for  merely  sug- 
gesting that  the  whole  thing  was  a  ruse  gotten  up  to  affect  the  action  of 
the  convention,  became  seriously  involved  with  some  of  the  ' Inton  fac- 
tion, and  for  a  time  it  seemed  probable  we  might  have  a  fight  in  the 
Kansas  valley. 

"The  convention  finally  decided  not  to  participate  in  the  election, 
and  the  next  day  after,  Lane  appeared  in  our  streets,  and  his  friends 
laughed  at  the  successful  stratagem  employed  to  bring  about  the  result. 

"  From  that  day  the  excitement  South  has  gone  on.  In  February 
or  March,  Lane  issued  his  memorable  letter  to  Montgomery  ordering 
him  to  disband  ;  but  Montgomery  has  stated,  to  gentlemen  whose  verac- 
ity cannot  be  questioned,  that  while  he  was  in  receipt  of  these  letters 
for  the  public  eye,  he  was  in  receipt  of  private  letters  from  that  same 
General  Lane,  applauding  him  for  his  acts  and  advising  him  to  push 
matters  to  even  greater  extremes  than  he  felt  justified  in  doing.  We 
have  not  the  most  remote  doubt  that  every  important  movement  of  Mont- 
gomery's, from  the  destruction  of  the  ballot-box  at  Mound  City  on  the 
4th  of  January,  a  year  ago,  down  to  the  release  of  Rice  at  Fort  Scott, 
who  was  indicted  for  murder  by  a  Free-State  grand  jury,  was  advised 
and  directed  by  Lane  ;  and  his  letter  to  Governor  Medary  is  all  the  proof 
needed  to  establish  that  he  is  a  particeps  criminis  in  all  that  has  been 
done  thus  far ! 

"The  rebuke  which   Governor   Medary  has  given   Lane  was  well 
merited.     Had  the  Governor  added  that  he  did  not  feel  justified  in  em-  - 
ploying  those  whose  hands  were  yet  wet  with  innocent  blood  to  arrest 
other  men  guilty  of  similar  crimes,  the  reproof  would  have  been  none 
too  severe." 

Some  of  the  turbulent  men  in  southern  Kansas  were  very 
reluctant  to  abandon  their  unlawful  career.  As  late  as  the 


412  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

fall  of  1860  they  were  on  the  war-path.  Notwithstanding 
the  Free-State  men  were  in  full  control  of  the  machinery  for 
punishing  criminals,  excepting  only  the  district  judges,  in 
November  of  that  year,  Samuel  Scott,  a  well-to-do  pro- 
slavery  man,  and  Russell  Hinds  were  hung  by  Jennison's 
men,  one  of  them  on  a  charge  of  returning  a  fugitive  slave 
to  his  master.  The  law  for  this  hanging  was  found  in  Ex- 
odus, 2ist  chapter  and  i6th  verse  :  "  And  he  that  stealeth  a 
man,  and  selleth  him,  or  if  he  be  found  in  his  hand,  he  shall 
surely  be  put  to  death."  Montgomery  endorsed  this  hang- 
ing in  a  note  to  Judge  Hanway  as  follows : 

"  Russ.  Hinds,  hung  on  the  I2th  day  of  November,  1860,  for  man- 
stealing.  He  was  a  drunken  border  ruffian,  worth  a  great  deal  to  hang, 
but  good  for  nothing  else.  He  had  caught  a  fugitive  slave,  and  carried 
him  back  to  Missouri  for  the  sake  of  a  reward.  He  was  condemned  by 
a  jury  of  twelve  men,  the  law  being  found  in  the  i6th  verse  of  Exodus 
xxi." 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  revulsion  of  feeling  such  proceed- 
ings caused  in  the  Territory,  these  men  would  indefinitely 
have  prosecuted  their  nefarious  business  in  the  name  of  God. 
No  man  is  so  unreasonable,  arbitrary,  and  cruel  as  he  who 
imagines  he  is  commissioned  by  God,  as  was  Joshua,  to  in- 
flict punishment  upon  His  enemies.  The  laws  of  mind  and 
matter  are  ignored  for  the  simple  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord," 
which  comes  to  his  inner  consciousness ;  and  that  command 
will  invariably  be  in  harmony  with  his  wishes,  or  righteous  (?) 
indignation  or  depraved  nature  or  instincts.  Whether  such 
kill  a  President,  as  did  Guiteau ;  a  daughter,  as  did  Free- 
man ;  pro-slavery  men,  as  did  Brown,  Montgomery,  and 
Jennison  ;  or  a  Free-State  or  any  other  man  who  might  cross 
his  path,  as  did  Lane — such  men  are  more  dangerous  than 
ten  times  their  number  who  acknowledge  accountability  to 
the  immutable  laws  of  cause  and  effect,  and  the  rights  of 
their  fellow-men. 

By  this  time  Free-State  men  were  becoming  sick  of 
such  performances,  and  were  outspoken  in  their  condemna- 


BROWN  LEAVES  KANSAS.  413 

tion.  A.  Wattles,  with  whom  Brown  often  made  his  home, 
in  his  testimony  before  the  Senate  Harper's  Ferry  Commit- 
tee, on  page  223  of  the  report,  says : 

"  He  called  in  to  see  me  *  *  *  in  going  out  of  the  Territory,  and  I 
censured  him  for  going  into  Missouri  contrary  to  our  agreement,  and 
getting  those  slaves.  He  said,  '  I  considered  the  matter  well ;  you  will 
have  no  more  attacks  from  Missouri ;  I  shall  now  leave  Kansas ;  prob- 
ably you  will  never  see  me  again  ;  I  consider  it  my  duty  to  draw  the 
scene  of  the  excitement  to  some  other  part  of  the  country.' " 

Here  is  more  evidence  that  his  mission  was  to  cause  dis- 
turbance and  not  quiet ;  war  and  not  peace. 

He  told  the  writer  substantially  the  same.  He  said, 
"  From  the  standpoint  of  a  free  State  the  party  have  acted 
wisely  and  have  succeeded ;  but  from  my  standpoint  they 
have  failed.  Nothing  but  war  can  extinguish  slavery,  and 
the  sooner  war  is  inaugurated  the  better."  Had  he  lived 
through  the  Rebellion,  he  would  have  learned  that  the  North 
had  all  it  could  do  to  save  the  nation  and  abolish  slavery 
when  it  had  possession  of  the  Government ;  and  had  the 
war  commenced  while  the  Government  was  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  South,  it  would  have  ended,  as  it  commenced, 
with  slavery  intact.  At  least,  so  reasoned  some  of  the  Free- 
State  men.  Their  policy  was  to  have  all  the  Territories 
enter  the  Union  as  free  States  and  abolish  slavery  in  them 
by  the  votes  of  the  inhabitants.  After  Kansas  was  secure, 
Thayer  commenced  the  colonization  of  Virginia  and  Ten- 
nessee, and  had  not  the  South  rebelled,  slavery  would  have 
been  peaceably  voted  out  of  existence  in  a  few  years,  with- 
out the  killing  of  one  million  of  men  and  the  expending  and 
destruction  of  billions  of  wealth.  The  men  and  treasure 
sacrificed  were  of  tenfold  more  value  than  all  the  slaves  in 
the  nation,  if  not  in  the  world.  All  this  would  have  been 
saved  had  not  the  Southern  States  repeated  Brown's  mistake 
of  making  war  upon  the  Federal  Government. 

The  amnesty  bill  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1859,  with  the  concurrence  of  all  parties,  and  the  war 


4 14  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

was  at  an  end ;  and  as  Brown  "  drew  the  scene  of  the  ex- 
citement "  to  Harper's  Ferry,  peace  was  permanent. 

The  historian  of  the  future  will  note  these  facts,  among 
others,  relative  to  the  disturbances  in  Kansas  during  1857 
and  1858: 

First,  after  the  arrival  of  Geary  there  was  no  longer  need 
of  solicitude  for  the  peace  of  the  Territory  as  there  had  been 
before  that  time,  as  the  Federal  Government  had  abandoned 
the  attempt  to  establish  slavery  in  Kansas  by  force.  This 
became  still  more  evident  on  the  arrival  of  Stanton  and 
Walker.  As  early  as  July,  1857,  all  indications  pointed  to 
the  taking  possession  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  in  Octo- 
ber by  the  Free-State  men,  and  after  the  Grasshopper  Falls 
convention  there  was  no  doubt  of  it.  At  length  the  Territo- 
rial Legislature  was  secured,  under  Walker  and  Stanton  as 
executive  officers,  who  were  as  favorable  to  an  honorable 
administration  of  the  Government  as  would  have  been 
Se\vard,  Chase,  or  Sumner. 

Second,  notwithstanding  this  condition  of  affairs,  a  certain 
class  of  men,  notably  Lane,  Brown,  and  Montgomery,  and 
their  followers,  were  more  active  in  warlike  demonstrations 
than  ever  before.  Messengers  were  sent  East  for  the  sinews 
of  war ;  "  Generals  "  Lane  and  Brown  were  in  vigorous  cor- 
respondence on  war  movements  during  the  summer  and  fall 
of  1857 — as  earnestly  after  securing  the  Legislature  as  be- 
fore ;  a  scheme  was  concocted  by  Lane  to  assassinate  the 
members  of  the  Lecompton  Constitutional  Convention, 
which,  had  it  been  carried  out,  could  have  but  resulted  in 
open  war ;  an  illegal  enactment  was  procured  creating  a 
"  Military  Board,"  with  Lane  at  its  head  ;  as  general-in-chief 
of  this  "  Board  "  he  proposed  a  general  massacre  of  pro- 
slavery  men  in  the  various  towns  of  the  Territory  ;  and  when 
all  these  movements  were  defeated  by  their  own  party  in 
central  and  northern  Kansas,  the  whole  crowd,  under  Lane, 
Brown,  and  Montgomery,  set  up  business  in  southern  Kan- 
sas, and  did  everything  in  their  power  to  inaugurate  civil 


ARTS    OF    PEACE.  415 

war ;  and  but  for  the  interference  of  conservative  Free-State 
men  they  would  have  succeeded.  When  the  Free-State  men 
secured  the  Territorial  Legislature,  the  local  officers  and  ju- 
ries, they  were  responsible  for  the  peace  of  the  Territory,  and 
had  ample  remedy  through  the  courts  for  all  grievances  ;  but 
it  was  just  at  that  juncture  when  these  men  became  the  most 
belligerent,  and  murder,  robbery,  and  outrage  were  most 
rampant  in  southern  Kansas.  It  is  not  easy  to  decide  which 
the  Free-State  cause  had  more  to  fear,  the  pro-slavery  party, 
sustained  by  the  Administration,  Congress,  and  the  South,  or 
these  thieves,  marauders,  and  revolutionists.  It  was  almost 
a  miracle  that  the  first  were  "  thwarted,  baffled,  and  circum- 
vented," and  it  is  a  double  miracle  that  the  second  did  not 
wreck  the  cause  and  involve  the  nation  in  civil  war.  Had 
these  men  been  permitted  to  have  their  way,  Brown  would 
have  been  hanged  in  Kansas  instead  of  Virginia,  and 
two  of  his  companions  would  have  been  Lane  and  Mont- 
gomery. There  is  little  doubt  that  such  will  be  the  verdict 
of  history. 

Thus  far  attention  has  been  chiefly  directed  to  civil  and 
political  conflicts  in  the  early  days,  but  these  were  not  all  of 
Kansas.  It  is  true  that  the  pioneers  kept  their  armor  in 
readiness,  whether  for  war  or  politics,  but  all  except  profes- 
sional politicians  engaged  in  the  various  industries  which 
thrive  in  times  of  peace.  Agriculture,  manufactures,  house 
and  town  building,  engaged  the  attention  of  most  of  the 
settlers,  while  speculation  in  town  lots  and  shares  was  by  no 
means  overlooked.  The  towns  most  prominent  during  the 
political  and  civil  strife  of  1854-58  were  Leavenworth,  the 
home  of  wealth  and  conservatism ;  Atchison,  the  home  of 
the  Stringfellows  and  the  Squatter  Sovereign ;  Fort  Scott, 
the  seat  of  the  Land  Office ;  Topeka,  the  State  capital  city, 
founded  in  December,  1854,  by  Eastern  men,  with  the  best 
town  builder  in  the  West,  Colonel  C.  K.  Holliday,  as  gen- 
eral manager,  Manhattan,  founded  by  such  men  as  I.  T. 
Goodnow,  Dr.  Denmson,  Mead,  and  Hunting;  Osawatomie, 


416  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

under  the  chief  management  of  O.  C.  Brown  ;  Lecompton, 
the  territorial  capital ;  Burlington,  Burlingame,  Council 
Grove,  Emporia,  Wabaunsee,  and  Lawrence.  All  these 
towns  still  have  a  name  to  live,  while  many  others  might  be 
named  which  promised  great  things,  but  have  lost  their  im- 
portance, such  as  Kickapoo,  Douglas,  Tecumseh,  Calhoun, 
Pawnee,  Oxford,  Council  City,  Delaware  Crossing,  H amp- 
den,  Franklin,  and  others. 

While  most  of  the  interior  towns  were  Free-State,  the 
Missouri  River  towns,  until  after  the  arrival  of  Governor 
Geary,  were  more  or  less  under  the  control  of  Slave-State 
men.  At  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  Governor  Reeder  was  in 
danger  of  assassination,  and  remained  concealed  nearly  two 
weeks  before  escaping  in  disguise ;  at  Leavenworth  Free- 
State  men  and  women  were  driven  out  by  the  hundred ; 
while  at  Atchison,  Pardee  Butler,  and  Kelly  could  be 
mobbed  with  impunity. 

After  the  return  of  the  campaigners  for  Fremont,  it  was 
considered  important  to  have  a  town  on  the  Missouri  River 
where  Free-State  men  could  be  secure  from  insult  or  moles- 
tation of  any  kind.  Accordingly,  the  site,  for  a  time  known 
as  Quindaro,  was  purchased  and  platted  by  some  Free-State 
men  in  the  fall  of  1856.  This  place  was  advertised  as  the 
only  landing  on  the  river  where  Free-State  men  had  control, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1857  nearly  all  the  immigrants  from  the 
North  seemed  bound  for  Kansas  by  way  of  Quindaro.  The 
effect  upon  other  localities  was  miraculous.  Wyandotte  was 
organized  under  Free-State  auspices,  with  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor W.  Y.  Roberts  as  figure-head ;  Leavenworth  elected 
Free-State  officers ;  Atchison  reorganized  with  General  S. 
C.  Pomeroy  in  the  lead ;  Doniphan  sent  for  Lane  for  an 
advertising  card,  while  Sumner  could  boast  an  Ingalls ; 
Delaware  had  a  town  company  hailing  from  Lawrence ; 
Elwood  could  show  more  Free-State  young  men  of  promise 
than  all  the  others  combined ;  while  White  Cloud  had  Sol. 
Miller,  and  the  White  Cloud  Chief,  the  premium  newspaper 


REVOLUTION  IN  KANSAS  TOWNS.          417 

of  Kansas.  The  effect  of  this  revolution  in  the  old  towns, 
and  the  starting  of  so  many  new  ones,  was  to  distribute  the 
transportation  and  other  business  where  the  best  accommo- 
dations could  be  furnished,  and  many  of  the  mushroom 
towns  collapsed,  among  them  the  one  that  had  started  the 
Free-State  town  boom.  As  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  was  the 
natural  gateway  to  all  the  country  west  of  it,  and  as  Colonel 
Kersey  Coates,  the  brainiest  man  and  shrewdest  manager  in 
Kansas,  settled  there,  this  place  soon  took  the  lead  of  all 
others,  and  has  retained  it  ever  since.  Even  the  overflow 
from  this  city  has  made  the  metropolis  of  the  State  of  Kan- 
sas, called  Kansas  City,  Kansas.  * 

But  something  more  was  needed  than  a  landing  on  the 
Missouri  River.  Kansas  was  being  rapidly  settled  through- 
out its  eastern  portion  for  more  than  one  hundred  miles 
from  water  transportation,  and  some  means  must  be  devised 
for  transporting  farm  products,  or  they  would  be  worthless 
except  for  home  consumption.  As  Robinson  had  resigned 
his  agency  of  the  Aid  Company  while  a  prisoner,  and  was 
free  to  enlist  in  any  business  that  might  need  his  services, 
when  the  slavery  conflict  subsided  he  gave  his  attention  to 
the  transportation  question.  He  abandoned  politics,  as  by 
nature  he  was  unfitted  to  run  with  a  political  machine.  He 
could  agitate,  but  could  not  wear  a  muzzle,  and  hence  would 
be  an  unavailable  candidate  and  an  unsuitable  officer  for 
any  party.  He  always  preferred  the  unwritten  laws  of 
the  universe  to  State  statutes,  Church  creeds,  or  Madam 
Grundy's  edicts,  and  so  was  necessarily  a  poor  politician. 
Being  solicited  to  engage  in  party  politics,  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  May  7,  1859.  As  it 
gives  his  views  of  the  situation  at  that  time,  extracts  are 
here  given : 

"  LAWRENCE,  April  30,  1859. 
"  Editor  Herald  of  Freedom : 

"  DEAR  SIR-  *  *  *  As  you  have  called  me  out,  I  will  give  a  few 
reasons  why  I  shall  attend  no  political  convention,  either  mass,  dele- 
27 


41 8  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

gate,  or  constitutional.  As  these  reasons  apply  to  no  one  else,  they 
will  be  personal,  and  perhaps  egotistical. 

"In  the  first  place,  I  am  not  a  politician,  never  was,  and  so  long  as 
I  have  my  reason  never  mean  to  be.  It  is  true  I  voted  for  Harrison 
for  President,  because  I  thought  the  Whigs  honest  and  the  Democrats 
corrupt.  Since  that  time  I  could  see  but  little  difference  between  them, 
and  have  voted  for  no  presidential  candidate,  but  have  occasionally 
joined  in  popular  movements  against  both  Whigs  and  Democrats. 

"  In  California  I  joined  a  popular  movement  to  secure  the  legal 
rights  of  the  citizens  against  unscrupulous  speculators  and  sharpers,  and 
was  thrown  into  prison  by  one  party  and  into  the  Legislature  by  the 
other,  but  it  was  not  a  political  contest. 

"  In  Kansas,  not  only  the  political,  but  the  civil,  legal,  and  natural 
rights  of  the  people  were  being  struck  down,  and  I  did  what  I  could  to 
protect  them.  At  the  urgent  solicitation  of  friends  I  was  induced  to 
occupy  a  somewhat  prominent  position  in  the  contest.  Until  the  defeat 
of  the  Lecompton  Constitution  I  regarded  it  as  a  duty  to  labor  with  my 
fellow-citizens  to  free  them  from  the  tyranny  that  threatened  to  over- 
whelm and  crush  out  all  their  .constitutional  rights.  Up  to  the  vote  on 
the  English  Bill,  during  the  whole  struggle  it  was  my  good  fortune  to 
approve  cordially  of  the  policy  of  the  people  of  Kansas.  It  is  true,  I 
did  not  agree  with  the  policy  adopted  at  an  adjourned  delegate  conven- 
tion, neither  did  the  people,  as  was  demonstrated  at  the  polls.  The  de- 
feat of  the  English  Bill  was  regarded  as  a  complete  victory  over  all  out- 
side enemies ;  was,  accordingly,  the  signal  for  the  politicians  to  enter 
the  ring,  and  for  all  others  to  retire.  From  that  time  I  have  avoided 
all  political  gatherings,  and  turned  my  attention  more  particularly  to  the 
development  of  the  material  interests  of  the  Territory.  Kansas,  al- 
though more  beautiful  and  desirable  on  some  accounts,  has  probably 
less  commercial  advantages  than  any  State  in  the  Union.  Her  lands, 
so  rich  and  beautiful,  must  lie  unimproved  and  comparatively  valueless 
without  the  means  of  getting  their  products  to  market.  Owing  to  the 
emigration  to  the  gold  mines,  corn  sells  at  Leavenworth  and  Kansas 
City  for  sixty  cents  per  bushel,  but  it  costs  fifty  cents  per  hundred,  or 
thirty  cents  a  bushel,  to  carry  it  from  Lawrence  to  the  Missouri  River, 
making  it  worth  at  this  place  about  thirty  cents  per  bushel,  and  thirty 
miles  southwest  of  here  it  is  worth  nothing  for  export.  In  ordinary 
seasons,  when  corn  is  worth  but  twenty-five  cents  JKT  bushel  on  the 
river,  it  will  not  sell  for  enough  to  pay  for  hauling  to  market.  Should 
things  remain  as  they  are,  and  no  railroads  be  built,  the  land  in  Mi-- 
souri  River  counties  will  increase  in  value,  while  the  lands  of  the  inte- 
rior cannot  rise  above  the  price  of  grazing  lands,  or  from  one  to  five 
dollars  an  acre.  So  with  the  towns.  The  river  towns  will  increase  in 
importance,  as  all  articles  of  export  must  be  carried  to  them  by  the 


IMPORTANCE    OF    TRANSPORTATION.  419 

farmer,  while  the  interior  towns  will  lose  even  their  present  trade. 
Believing  that  without  the  early  construction  of  a  system  of  railroads 
Kansas  would  experience  a  stagnation  of  business  that  would  be  ruinous 
alike  to  all  departments  of  industry,  I  felt  it  to  be  of  the  highest  im- 
portance to  seize  the  first  opportunity  to  procure  grants  of  lands  from 
Congress  for  railroad  purposes. 

"  Having  been  placed  in  a  position  by  the  people  of  Kansas  during 
our  early  struggle  that  was  likely  to  carry  with  it  some  influence,  I  felt 
it  a  duty  to  use  that  influence  for  their  benefit.  Accordingly,  I  declined 
to  be  a  member  of  the  Leavenworth  Constitutional  Convention,  and 
avoided  political  controversies,  with  a  view  to  secure  a  grant  of  lands 
while  there  was  land  to  grant,  and  when  it  could  be  of  service  to  the 
people.  I  visited  three  successive  sessions  of  Congress,  chiefly  for  this 
object.  Last  winter  a  large  and  respectable  delegation  from  Kansas 
agreed  upon  a  system  of  roads,  and  a  grant  would  probably  have  been 
made  had  not  the  political  demagogues  interfered.  That  system  would 
have  given  five,  if  not  six,  roads  to  Lawrence,  and  would  have  increased 
the  value  of  every  lot  in  town  tenfold,  every  farm  in  the  county  fourfold, 
and  every  acre  of  land  east  of  Fort  Riley,  on  an  average,  twofold.  The 
grant  was  to  have  been  made  to  the  Legislature,  and  no  man  at  Wash- 
ington would  have  had  the  least  advantage  over  any  other  citizen  of  the 
Territory.  *  *  * 

"  C.  ROBINSON." 


Failing  to  get  action  by  Congress,  R.  S.  Stevens,  S.  N. 
Simpson,  and  Robinson  procured  the  assent  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  Delaware  tribe  of  Indians  to  make  a  treaty  by 
which  their  land  should  be  sold  in  the  interest  of  a  railroad 
up  the  Kansas  valley.  But  when  the  council  was  held,  the 
agent,  being  a  pro-slavery  man,  and  not  liking  such  men  as 
had  worked  up  the  treaty,  inserted  the  name  of  a  road  run- 
ning from  Leavenworth  instead  of  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas 
River.  When  this  action  became  known  the  Indians  signed 
a  protest  which  resulted  in  a  compromise,  and  the  two  roads 
were  provided  for,  one  from  Leavenworth  and  one  from 
Wyandotte.  Stevens,  Simpson,  and  Robinson  became  di- 
rectors and  stockholders,  and  all  went  smoothly  tilt  Lane 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  when,  as  he  was 
hostile  to  Stevens  and  Robinson,  the  latter  sold  out  his  inter- 
est and  Lane  was  conciliated.  The  road  was,  after  long 


420  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

delays,  constructed,  and  became  the  Union  Pacific,  with  a 
large  endowment  in  lands  and  bonds.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  roads  in  Kansas,  but  not  the  end,  as  the  State  is 
gridironed  with  them  from  end  to  end,  no  State  of  the  same 
age  equalling  it  in  railroad  mileage. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE     KILLING    OF    JENKINS. THE     SERVICES    OF     LANE    AND 

BROWN. ADMISSION  OF  KANSAS    TO  THE    UNION. SECES- 
SION.— THE  GOVERNOR'S  FIRST  MESSAGE. 

THE  year  1858  was  noteworthy  as  completing  the  conflict 
against  Lecompton  and  territorial  usurpation.  It  was  note- 
worthy, also,  for  the  murder  of  Gaius  Jenkins  by  Colonel 
Lane,  over  a  pretended  claim  quarrel.  As  Jenkins  was  one 
of  the  treason  prisoners  confined  during  the  summer  of  1856 
with  the  United  States  troops,  and  as  this  claim  question 
may  have  been  one  reason  why  Lane  proposed  their  rescue 
by  force,  and  why  he  left  Lawrence  defenseless  when  the 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  Missourians  were  marching 
against  it,  a  brief  statement  is  made  of  the  character  of  the 
claim  dispute  and  the  killing. 

General  James  Blood,  one  of  the  first  and  most  trust- 
worthy settlers  of  Kansas,  made  a  statement  in  1884,  in 
which  occurs  the  following : 

"  The  claim  was  located  by  Gaius  Jenkins  in  the  fall  of  1854,  in  my 
presence.  The  first  iQg-house  was  built  by  Jenkins,  he  furnishing  all 
the  means  and  material,  and  paying  Chapman  in  full  for  all  the  work 
done  on  it  by  him.  Stillman  Andrews,  with  others,  dug  the  well  at  the 
first  log-house  built  as  above  stated,  and  was  paid  for  it  by  Jenkins. 
The  frame  house  was  put  up  on  the  claim  by  Jenkins  in  September  or 
October  of  1855.  Jenkins  had  a  well  dug  by  the  frame  house  in  the 
fall  of  1855,  sixty  odd  feet  deep,  and  found  no  water.  Aaron  Perry 
and  Samuel  Fry  dug  this  well.  The  double  log-house  was  bought  by 
Jenkins  of  Lane,  about  the  last  of  December,  1855,  according  to  the 
statement  of  both  Jenkins  and  Lane  to  me  at  that  time." 


422  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

S.  C.  Russell,  Esq.,  who  had  charge  of  the  Jenkins  estate, 
including  the  claim  contest,  says : 

"In  1857  Lane  had  a  pre-emption  claim  in  Doniphan  County, 
which  I  proved  by  the  most  reputable  citizens  in  Doniphan  and  Troy, 
in  the  summer  of  1860,  Lane  in  person  acting  for  himself;  and  I  can  go 
there  now  and  make  the  same  proof.  *  *  *  Lane  either  built  a  saw- 
mill on  or  contracted  for  one  to  be  built  on  this  Doniphan  claim,  and 
afterwards  sold  it  out  to  other  parties.  *  *  * 

"  Jenkins's  hired  men  had  for  some  time  prior  to  the  shooting  com- 
plained to  Jenkins  that  Lane  had  nailed  up  the  gate  leading  to  the  well, 
and  had  threatened  to  shoot  them.  Jenkins  said  he  would  have  to  go 
and  see  if  he  could  get  some  water.  The  day  he  went  over  there  were 
with  him  his  hired  man,  Ray  Green,  and  two  nephews — young  boys. 
Jenkins  had  a  pail  and  an  axe,  the  axe  to  open  the  gate,  which  had  been 
spiked  and  securely  fastened  up  with  additional  plank  and  the  well 
locked  up.  *  *  *  The  only  shots  fired  were  the  first  one  by  Lane, 
that  killed  Jenkins  instantly,  and  the  second  one  by  Ray  Green,  with  a 
four-inch  Colt's  revolver  ;  he  was  quite  a  distance  in  the  rear  of  Jenkins, 
and  must  have  made  a  good  shot  if  he  hit  Lane,  which  has  been  doubted 
— the  truth  of  which  I  know  nothing, 'only  by  report.  *  *  * 

"  Lane  said  to  Judge  G.  W.  Smith,  in  Smith's  office,  more  than  a 
month  before  he  shot  Jenkins,  that  he  would  shoot  him.  He  said  to 

Charles  H.  Branscomb,  '  I  will  have  the  blood  out  of  his  G d 

d d  black  heart.'  " 

Henry  W.  Petriken  wrote,  February  19,  1884: 

"  Movrot'RSViLLE,  PA.,  February  19,  1884. 
"  S.  C.  ftussell,  Esq.  : 

"  DEAR  SIR:  I  remember  you  very  well  as  the  attorney  of  Jenkins 
— the  victim  of  Lane's  murderous  villainy — in  the  case  of  Jenkins  vs. 
Lane  before  the  Local  Land  Office  at  Lecompton. 

"  I  acted  as  clerk  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  and  perhaps  the 
whole  of  it,  after  the  case  was  reopened  in  the  taking  the  testimony  in 
the  case.  I  do  not  know  what  became  of  the  book  of  testimony  in  this 
case,  unless  General  Brindle  knows  something  of  it.  It  was  probably 
destroyed  as  waste  lumber,  or  perhaps  turned  over  to  General  Brindle's 
successor. 

"  Soon  after  the  taking  of  the  testimony  was  finished,  Lane  seems  to 
have  thought  his  case  a  hopeless,  or  at  least  a  very  doubtful  one,  as  he 
requested  me  to  be  at  my  office  on  a  certain  evening  alone  and  to  have 
the  book  of  testimony  with  me,  as  he  wished  to  look  over  it.  Lane 
came  to  my  office  after  I  had  waited  until  near  midnight,  and  was  dis- 
appointed and  disgusted  when  he  found  I  had  not  the  book  with  me. 


PETRIKEN.    r.RINDLE.    AND    MOORE.  423 

The  case  was  decided  most  unequivocally  in  favor  of  Jenkins  by  the 
Local  Office.  Soon  after  the  Local  Office  acted  on  the  case  Lane  re- 
quested another  interview,  which  I  granted,  and  though  this  talk  lasted 
nearly  all  night,  I  can  sum  it  all  up  by  saying  that  the  whole  object  of 
it  was  to  induce  me  to  show  General  Brindle  good  and  sufficient  reasons 
for  changing  his  decision  in  this  case  before  it  was  sent  to  the  General 
Land  Office.  Lane's  first  inducement  was  an  offer  to  guarantee  to 
Brindle  and  myself  twenty,  and  afterwards  forty,  acres  of  the  disputed 
land.  After  finally  convincing  Lane  that  it  would  be  a  dangerous  ex- 
periment to  intimate  anything  of  the  kind  to  General  Brindle,  he  left. 
I  did  not  mention  the  matter  to  Brindle  then,  and  indeed  I  am  not 
sure  that  I  ever  have  since.  There  are  two  prominent  gentlemen  now 
living  in  Kansas — one  a  prominent  ex-county  office-holder  at  Topeka, 
and  the  other  in  the  banking  business  at  Emporia — who,  I  have  no  doubt, 
will  remember  this  last  interview,  as  at  my  request  they  were  -within 
calling  distance,  they  being  at  the  time  in  the  place  of  business  of  the 
former  gentleman,  one  or  two  doors  above  my  office. 

"  Heartily  sympathizing  in  your  every  effort  to  protect  the  memory 
of  the  murdered  Jenkins,  I  remain, 

"  Your  well  wisher  and  friend, 

"HENRY  W.  PETRIKEN." 

Extract  from  General  William  Brindle's  letter  of  February 
7,  1884: 

"  \Ve  had  decided  that  Jenkins  was  entitled  to  his  claim  before  he 
was  killed ;  at  the  time  of  his  death  we  were  hearing  the  case  again  (it 
had  been  sent  back  to  enable  Lane  to  put  in  additional  testimony,  which 
we  received,  but  which  did  not  show  him  to  have  been  the  prior  settler). 

"  WILLIAM  BRINDLE." 

Eli  Moore,  son  of  the  register  of  the  Land  Office  at  Le- 
compton,  writes  this  letter  to  Robinson : 

"  Hon.  Charles  Robinson  : 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR:  In  answer  to  your  question  as  to  whether  or  not 
the  Land  Office  at  Lecompton  had  decided  in  the  land  case  between 
Jenkins  and  Lane  at  the  time  of  Jenkins's  death,  and  as  to  my  knowledge 
as  to  the  case  itself,  will  state :  That  the  case  had  been  decided  by  the 
register  and  receiver  of  the  Pawnee  Land  District,  then  located  at  Le- 
compton, in  favor  of  Gaius  Jenkins  and  adverse  to  James  H.  Lane. 
This  decision  had  been  given  several  weeks  before  the  shooting  of  Jen- 
kins. Lane  was  apprised  of  this  decision  by  the  register  and  receiver, 
and  by  his  attorney  in  the  case,  Wilson  Shannon.  I  took  all  the  evi- 


424  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

dence  in  the  case,  was  and  am  familiar  with  the  facts  in  the  litigation. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  had  also  confirmed  the  decision  of  the 
Land  Office  at  Lecompton.  All  of  these  facts  were  in  the  possession  of 
Lane  at  the  time  of  and  before  the  killing  of  Jenkins. 

"  After  Lane  was  elected  United  States  senator  he  had  the  case  re- 
opened, and  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  reversed  the  decision  of  the 
Land  Office  and  of  the  former  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

"  Respectfully, 
"Januarys,  1884."  "  ELI  MOORE.' 

Governor  J.  W.  Denver,  who  accepted  the  office  of  Secre- 
tary of  the  Territory  December  21,  1857,  and  of  Governor 
May  12,  1858,  resigned  his  office  October  10,  1858,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Samuel  Medary.  It  is  due  to  Governor 
Denver  to  say  that  he  was  a  man  of  the  highest  honor,  in- 
tegrity, and  patriotism.  His  position  was  no  sinecure,  but 
he  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  with  impartiality  and 
great  ability.  He  had  lived  in  the  West,  knew  Western 
people,  and  they  knew  him.  He  was  not  a  man  to  be  trifled 
with — even  Lane  knew  this,  as,  according  to  Redpath,  he 
proposed  to  have  him  assassinated  by  the  Danites,  should 
he  notice  his  gross  insults — and  all  parties  respected  him. 
As  he  was  about  to  leave  the  Territory,  a  banquet  was  given 
him  at  Leavenworth  by  men  of  all  parties  and  factions, 
where  the  utmost  good  feeling  was  manifested. 

As  soon  as  he  learned  the  situation  in  Kansas  relative  to 
the  Lecompton  Constitution,  he  sent  Judge  Elmore  to  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  to  urge  him  to  recommend  its  rejection  by 
Congress. 

But  the  President  had  already  committed  himself,  and 
was  unwilling  to  change  his  position.  Governor  Denver 
thus  refers  to  this  action  in  his  Bismarck  speech,  September, 
1884: 

"  I  sent  for  him  [Judge  Elmore]  to  come  down  and  see  me  at  Law 

rence.   He  did  so.   We  talked  the  matter  over,  and  I  presented  to  him  my 

views  in  reference  to  the  Lecompton  Constitution.     He  agreed  with  me. 

'  Then,'  says  I,  '  Judge,  I  want  you  to  go  to  Washington  city  and 

see  the  President  on  this  subject.' 


GOVERNOR    DENVER.  425 

' '  He  says,  '  When  ? ' 

"  I  said,  '  To-morrow  morning.' 

"  '  Why,'  says  he,  '  I  have  got  nothing — I  have  no  clothing  with 
me.'  Says  I,  '  You  don't  need  anything;  all  you  will  want  will  be  a 
shirt,  and  that  you  can  buy  anywhere  as  you  go  along;  start  in  the 
morning. '  That  night  I  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  President,  in  which 
I  summed  up  the  condition  of  affairs  here  in  the  Territory,  as  I  then 
understood  them,  and  I  urged  him  not  to  present  the  Lecompton  Con- 
stitution to  Congress  at  all,  but  to  ask  Congress  to  pass  an  enabling  act 
to  let  the  people  of  the  Territory  hold  a  convention  and  adopt  a  consti- 
tution, and  to  wipe  out  all  of  those  unauthorized  constitutions  that  were 
presented. 

"  Judg6  Elmore  went  on  to  Washington  city  and  presented  my  letter 
to  the  President,  and  had  a  long  conversation  with  him,  and  also  with 
his  own  brother-in-law,  Senator  Fitzpatrick,  and  other  Southern  gentle- 
men whom  he  knew  there ;  and  they  all  agreed  to  my  advice. 

"  Mr.  Buchanan  said  he  was  very  strongly  impressed  with  it,  and  that 
he  was  very  sorry  he  had  not  had  the  information  earlier,  because  he 
had  prepared  his  message  in  relation  to  the  Lecompton  Constitution, 
and  he  had  shown  it  to  several  senators,  and  could  not  withdraw  it. 
It  went  in.  You  know  the  result." 

All  constitutional  rubbish  having  been  virtually  cleared 
away,  the  Topeka  and  Leavenworth  Constitutions  being  with- 
out legal  recognition,  and  Lecompton  having  been  defeated 
under  the  form  of  the  English  Bill,  a  move  was  made  in  the 
winter  of  1859  for  a  fourth  Constitution. 

In  his  address  at  the  Quarter  Centennial,  at  Topeka,  Jan- 
uary 29,  1886,  Hon.  B.  F.  Simpson  thus  alludes  to  the  move- 
ment : 

"  Time  aided  the  persistence  and  patience  of  the  Free-State  settlers  ; 
immigration  was  coming  in  from  the  North ;  the  Legislature  and  local 
offices  were  now  controlled  by  the  bona  fide  residents,  and  the  friends 
of  Kansas  were  about  to  control  the  lower  House  of  Congress,  and  were 
gaining  in  the  Senate.  Encouraged  by  these  good  indications,  the 
Legislature  of  1859,  on  the  nth  day  of  February,  passed  an  act  author- 
izing a  vote  of  the  people  to  be  taken  on  the  question  of  the  formation 
of  a  Constitution  and  State  Government.  The  vote  was  taken  on  the 
28th  day  of  March,  and  resulted  four  to  one  in  its  favor.  An  election 
for  delegates  was  then  ordered  on  the  4th  day  of  June.  At  that  election 
there  were  more  than  fourteen  thousand  votes  cast.  The  convention 
met  on  the  5th  day  of  July.  *  *  * 


426  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  On  the  4th  clay  of  October  the  work  of  the  convention  was  ratified 
by  the  people.  There  were  about  sixteen  thousand  votes  polled  at  the 
election,  and  more  than  two-thirds  of  them  were  for  the  Constitution. 
On  the  6th  day  of  December  an  election  for  State  officers,  a  member  of 
Congress,  and  members  of  the  Legislature  was  held.  On  the  I4th  day 
of  February,  1860,  it  was  presented  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
*  *  *  On  the  2ist  day  of  January,  1861,  the  bill  for  the  admission  of 
Kansas  passed  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  thirty-six  for  and  sixteen  against. 
On  the  agth  President  Buchanan  signed  the  bill,  Kansas  became  a  State, 
the  struggle  was  over,  the  battle  won  ;  and  the  good  people  of  Kansas 
are  to-day  enjoying  the  fruits  of  the  victory." 

Judge  Simpson,  in  his  address,  gives  this  account  of  the 
reception  of  the  news  of  the  admission  to  the  Union  during 
the  session  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  at  Lawrence : 

"  I  remember  the  earlier  part  of  the  night  of  the  2gth  day  of  January, 
1861,  very  distinctly.  I  was  at  the  Eldridge  House,  in  Lawrence,  a 
member  of  the  last  Territorial  Legislature,  that  was  then  holding  its 
session  in  that  dearly  beloved  Free-State  city.  There  were  from  three 
to  four  inches  of  snow  on  the  ground  (an  unusual  sight  in  Kansas  in 
those  days),  and  the  night  was  windy  and  cold.  It  must  have  been  as 
late  as  nine  o'clock  when  D.  R.  Anthony,  the  same  Anthony  who  is 
now  president  of  our  Historical  Society,  came  into  the  hotel  with  sturdy 
stride  and  flashing  eyes,  and  told  us  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  had  that  day  signed  and  approved  the  bill  admitting  Kansas  into 
the  Union.  He  brought  with  him  and  scattered  around  extras  is>ued 
by  a  newspaper  published  at  Leavenworth,  called  the  Ccnscn-iitirc,  an- 
nouncing the  joyful  tidings  in  flaring  headlines.  *  *  *  There  was  a 
'  sound  of  revelry '  that  night  in  Lawrence,  for  the  news  ran  through 
the  town  like  wildfire.  Houses  were  lighted,  doors  were  thrown  open 
(and  some  were  broken  open),  the  people  gathered  in  public  places. 
'Old  Sacramento'  was  taken  from  his  resting-place,  and  emphasi/ed 
with  hoarse  throat  the  good  tidings  ;  toasts  were  drunk  ;  songs  were 
sung;  speeches  were  made,  and — well,  the  truth  is,  that  my  recollection 
is  not  good  after  midnight.  You  must  recollect  that  the  main  question 
then  was  admission,  not  prohibition." 

The  New  York  Tribune  of  January  29,  1861,  thus  refers 
to  this  event : 

"  The  House  yesterday  passed  the  Senate  bill  for  the  admission  of 
Kansas,  which  thus  becomes  the  thirty-fourth  State  of  the  Union,  and 
the  nineteenth  free  State.  This  act  not  only  opportunely  adds  to  the 


END    OF    THE    CONFLICT.  427 

Confederation  a  sound  and  loyal  member,  untainted  by  the  pestiferous 
blight  of  slavery,  but  does  rightful  though  tardy  justice  to  a  State  which 
has  suffered  for  five  years  greater  wrongs  and  outrages  from  Federal 
authority  than  all  the  slave  States  together  have  endured  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Government,  even  if  their  own  clamor  about  imaginary 
oppression  be  admitted  as  well  founded. 

"  The  present  generation  is  too  near  to  these  events  to  see  them  in 
their  true  proportions,  but  in  the  future,  in  impartial  history,  the  at- 
tempt to  force  slavery  upon  Kansas,  and  the  violations  of  law,  of  order, 
and  of  personal  and  political  rights,  that  were  perpetrated  in  that  at- 
tempt, will  rank  among  the  most  outrageous  and  flagrant  acts  of  tyranny 
in  the  annals  of  mankind." 

The  admission  of  Kansas  into  the  Union  was  the  end  of 
the  conflict  against  slavery  in  Kansas ;  and  the  "  beginning 
of  the  end "  of  the  conflict  against  slavery  in  the  nation. 
The  importance  of  the  Kansas  struggle  cannot  be  overesti- 
mated. It  settled  the  destiny  of  slavery,  not  only  in  Kansas 
and  the  nation,  but,  eventually,  in  the  world.  When  Robin- 
son gave  J.  B.  Abbott  a  letter  to  Eli  Thayer  for  more  Sharp's 
rifles,  subscribing  it,  "In  haste,  yours  for  freedom  for  a 
world,"  he  truthfully  represented  the  extent  of  the  battle- 
field. Such  being  the  importance  of  the  struggle,  the  men 
who  were  victorious  are  entitled  to  great  credit.  Who  were 
they  f  The  writer  believes  they  belong  to  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  Free-State  party ;  that  it  was  the  policy  adopted  by 
that  party  that  saved  Kansas  to  freedom.  Others  claim  that 
two  or  three  men  whose  policy  was  diametrically  opposed  to 
that  adopted  by  the  party  saved  the  cause.  F.  B.  Sanborn 
calls  John  Brown  the  "  Liberator "  of  Kansas,  and  T.  W. 
Higginson,  in  the  Boston  Advertiser  of  September  15,  1879, 
says,  "  The  leaderships  of  Brown,  Lane,  and  Montgomery 
were  what  finally  saved  Kansas  to  freedom."  To  say  the 
least,  if  their  leadership  saved  Kansas,  it  is  remarkable  that 
their  policy  was  never  adopted,  but  uniformly  opposed  and 
defeated.  But  it  is  not  the  purpose  to  settle  such  questions 
by  argument  or  discussion  of  the  merits  or  demerits  of  indi- 
viduals or  parties.  It  is  sufficient  to  furnish  what  are  be- 


428  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

lieved  to  be  facts,  and  all  can  draw  their  own  conclusions. 
It  is  evident  a  most  important  and  difficult  work  was  ac- 
complished, and  if  a  movement  with  results  as  beneficial, 
and  with  as  little  bloodshed  and  violence — barring  the  mas- 
sacres, robberies,  and  outrages  by  individuals — has  been 
recorded  in  ancient  or  modern  history,  it  has  escaped  obser- 
vation. 

As  a  few  individuals  have  seen  fit  to  publish  their  views 
of  the  conflict  in  Kansas,  and  singled  out  their  heroes,  and 
made  all  movements  revolve  about  them,  a  few  opinions  of 
some  of  the  actors  in  the  tragedy  are  here  given  by  way  of 
contrast. 

S.  N.  Wood,*  one  of  the  Branson  rescuers,  and  a  man 
who  has  no  superior  in  a  mental  or  physical  encounter,  thus 
writes,  in  1884,  of  John  Brown: 

"  I  now  give  it  as  my  deliberate  judgment  that  John  Brown  never 
did  any  good  in  Kansas,  that  we  would  have  been  better  off  if  he  had 
never  come  to  the  State.  His  object  was  war,  not  peace.  It  was  his 
constant  aim  to  produce  a  collision  between  the  Free-State  men  and  the 
Government,  which  would  have  wiped  us  out  in  Kansas  as  effectually 
as  he  and  his  little  band  were  wiped  out  in  Virginia.  The  truth  is, 
Brown  never  had  the  confidence  of  the  Free-State  men  of  Kansas,  and 
no  sensible  man  dared  follow  his  lead.  * 

"  By  this  wanton  murder  on  the  Potawatomie  the  Free-State  men  of 
Kansas  suffered  terribly. 

"  There  cannot  be  any  question  to  a  man  who  knew  Brown  as  I  did 
that  he  was  crazy,  or,  rather,  had  that  religious  delusion  that  he  was  an- 
other Gideon,  or  rather  a  chosen  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  to  ac- 
complish a  great  work.  '  He  died  as  the  fool  dieth,'  and  for  one  I  \vas 
willing  to  let  his  '  soul  go  marching  on.'  But  to  have  him  thrust  down 
this  generation  as  ever  being  of  any  benefit  to  Kansas  is  an  insult  to 
the  men  who  made  Kansas  free. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  S.  N.  WOOD." 

Another  Branson  rescuer,  the  secretary  of  the  Leaven- 
worth  Constitutional  Convention,  and  correspondent  of  the 

*  S.  N.  Wood  has  been  brutally  assassinated,  in  the  presence  of  his  wife, 
since  the  above  was  written. 


ADMISSION    TO    THE    UNION.  429 

Eastern  press,  S.  C.  Smith,  has  this  to  say  in  a  letter  dated 
April  1 8,  1880: 

"  I  believe  Kansas  was  saved  to  freedom  through  the  influence  of 
those  who  so  conducted  themselves  within  it  as  to  merit  the  approval 
and  support  of  the  friends  of  freedom  throughout  the  North.  *  *  *  It 
seems  to  me  that  all  the  Free-State  party  could  do,  in  the  early  struggle, 
from  1854  to  1857,  was,  if  possible,  to  '  hold  the  fort,'  and  wait  for  the 
triumph  of  the  Republican  party  to  secure  their  own  complete  victory. 
This  in  fact  was  what  they  did  do. 

"  Brown,  Lane,  and  Montgomery  would  have  plunged  us  into  all 
sorts  of  excesses,  put  our  friends  in  the  East  on  the  defensive,  rallied 
the  Democratic  party  under  the  banner  of  the  '  Constitution  and  the 
Union,'  as  against  civil  war  and  incendiary  abolitionists,  and  Kansas 
would  have  been  lost  by  the  folly  and  insanity  of  its  leaders  in  doing 
those  acts  which  the  sentiment  of  the  North  could  in  no  wise  sustain." 

Solomon  Miller,  of  the  Kansas  Chief,  thus  refers  to  Mr. 
Rastall : 

"  John  E.  Rastall,  of  the  Burlingame  Chronicle,  protests  against  the 
publication  of  letters  by  the  State  Historical  Society,  in  which  General 
Lane  is  criticised  unfavorably.  He  thinks  Lane's  services  to  Kansas 
should  at  least  secure  silence.  That  may  be  just  as  one  looks  at  it. 
History  is  history,  and  let  the  truth  be  told,  hit  where  it  may.  Lane 
did  Kansas  some  service,  but  his  services  were  greatly  overestimated. 
He  also  did  a  great  deal  of  bad.  He  was  the  originator  of  the  corrup- 
tion in  politics  that  Kansas  is  credited  with.  His  forte  was  bulldozing 
and  deceit.  Many  good  men  and  tried  friends  of  Kansas  were  kept 
under  through  his  influence,  and  many  scoundrels  placed  on  top.  He 
killed  himself,  because  he  undertook  to  sell  Kansas  out,  but  found  he 
couldn't  deliver  the  goods.  Let  the  truth  be  published,  whether  it  be 
for  or  against  him." 

The  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  2pth  of 
January,  1861,  and  the  first  Legislature  convened  the  last  of 
March.  At  that  date  seven  States  had  already  seceded  from 
the  Union,  and  eight  others  were  threatening  to  follow  should 
coercion  be  resorted  to  by  the  Federal  Government.  Al- 
though without  secession  Kansas  might  not  have  entered  the 
sisterhood  of  States,  at  least  at  the  date  named,  she  was  loyal 
to  the  Federal  Government,  as  she  had  been  in  her  territorial 
days,  and  her  first  message  gave  no  uncertain  sound.  Her 


430  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

people  were  ready  to  join  issue  at  once  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion, which  was  the  real  and  only  issue.  Had  Kansas  con- 
trolled the  Federal  Executive,  the  announcement  would  have 
been  made  immediately  after  the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter, 
that,  unless  rebellious  States  should  return  to  their  allegiance 
by  a  day  named  in  the  proclamation,  slavery  would  be  abol- 
ished. Such  a  proclamation  might  have  been  premature 
and  a  mistake,  but,  if  left  to  Kansas,  it  would  have  been 
made.  A  few  sentences  from  the  first  State  message  are 
given,  as  follows : 

"  When  Kansas  applied  for  admission  into  the  Union,  it  was  sup- 
posed there  was  a  Federal  Government  that  would  endure  until  the 
present  generation,  at  least,  should  pass  away.  Recent  developments, 
however,  have  given  rise  to  serious  doubts  as  to  its  existence.  Theo- 
retically, such  a  government  is  extended  over  thirty-four  States,  but 
practically  it  does  not  exist  in  some.  In  seven  States  the  laws  are 
openly  repudiated,  the  forts  are  seized,  the  revenue  stolen,  the  Federal 
officers  defied,  and  the  flag  of  the  nation  insulted  with  impunity;  and 
eight  others  threaten  to  do  likewise  if  the  Government  attempts  to  as- 
sert its  authority  by  force  in  any  rebellious  State.  Such  is  the  condition 
of  affairs  as  bequeathed  by  the  late  Administration  to  the  present. 

"  The  future  none  can  predict.  Should  matters  progress  as  for  a 
few  months  past,  and  coercion  be  decried  as  at  present,  not  a  prominent 
seaboard  State  will  remain  in  the  Union,  and  not  a  law  of  the  United 
States  will  be  enforced  anywhere.  Oar  Government,  once  regarded  as 
a  power  on  earth,  will  become  a  hissing  and  a  byword  among  the  na- 
tions— a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of  all  men.  This  nation  occupies  a  very 
remarkable  position  before  the  civilized  world.  It  has  heretofore  been 
prompt  and  efficient  in  putting  down  treason  and  rebellion,  and  the 
whole  force  of  the  army  and  navy  has  been  called  into  requisition  at 
once  whenever  danger  threatened.  The  whiskey  insurrection,  South 
Carolina  nullification,  and  the  John  Brown  raid  were  all  summarily  dis- 
posed of  with  no  cry  of  '  coercion.'  Now,  when  certain  persons  in  the 
South  have  seized  upon  the  revenues,  forts,  ships,  post-offices,  mints, 
arms,  and  army  and  navy  stores,  waged  war  upon  the  United  States 
troops,  set  up  an  independent  government,  and  bid  defiance  to  all  law, 
the  position  of  the  authorities  has  been  simply  that  of  non-resistance. 
Two  independent  and  hostile  governments  cannot  long  exist  at  the 
same  time  over  the  same  territory  without  conflict,  and  either  the  Con- 
federated States  of  the  South  or  the  Federal  Government  must  succumb, 
or  civil  war  is  inevitable. 


SENATORIAL    ELECTION.  431 

"  A  demand  is  made  by  certain  States  that  new  concessions  and 
guarantees  be  given  to  slavery,  or  the  Union  must  be  destroyed.  The 
present  Constitution,  however  faithfully  adhered  to,  is  declared  to  be 
incompatible  with  the  existence  of  slavery ;  its  change  is  demanded,  or 
the  government  under  it  must  be  overthrown.  If  it  is  true  that  the 
continued  existence  of  slavery  requires  the  destruction  of  the  Union,  it 
is  time  to  ask  if  the  existence  of  the  Union  does  not  require  the  de- 
struction of  slavery.  If  such  an  issue  be  forced  upon  the  nation,  it  must 
be  met,  and  met  promptly.  The  people  of  Kansas,  while  they  are  will- 
ing to  fulfil  their  constitutional  obligations  towards  their  brethren  in  the 
sister  States  to  the  letter,  even  to  the  yielding  of  the  '  pound  of  flesh,' 
cannot  look  upon  the  destruction  of  the  fairest  and  most  prosperous 
government  on  earth  with  indifference.  If  the  issue  is  presented  to 
them,  the  overthrow  of  the  Union  or  the  destruction  of  slavery,  they 
will  not  long  hesitate  as  to  their  choice.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this 
issue  will  be  withdrawn,  and  the  nation  advance  in  its  career  of  prosper- 
ity and  power,  the  just  pride  of  every  citizen  and  the  envy  of  the  world. 

"  The  position  of  the  Federal  Executive  is  a  trying  one.  The  Gov- 
ernment, when  assumed  by  him,  was  rent  in  twain ;  the  cry  against 
coercion  was  heard  in  every  quarter ;  his  hands  were  tied,  and  he  had 
neither  men  nor  money,  nor  the  authority  to  use  either.  While  it  is  the 
duty  of  each  loyal  State  to  see  that  equal  and  exact  justice  is  done  to 
the  citizens  of  every  other  State,  it  is  equally  its  duty  to  sustain  the 
Chief  Executive  of  the  nation  in  defending  the  Government  from  foes, 
whether  from  within  or  without — and  Kansas,  though  last  and  least  of 
the  States  in  the  Union,  will  ever  be  ready  to  answer  the  call  of  her 
country. 

"  C.  ROBINSON." 

At  the  first  session  of  the  Legislature  two  United  States 
senators  were  elected.  The  principal  candidates  were  S.  C. 
Pomeroy,  J.  H.  Lane,  M.  J.  Parrott,  and  F.  P.  Stanton. 
Neither  had  a  majority  of  friends  in  the  Legislature,  and 
some  sharp  practice  was  resorted  to.  Lane  was  equal  to  the 
occasion.  Although  his  supporters  were  largely  in  the  mi- 
nority, they  were,  as  a  rule,  so  positive  and  firm  in  their  at- 
tachment that  they  would  trade  with  any  other  candidate  to 
secure  votes  for  their  favorite.  But  no  other  candidate  had 
trading  friends  enough  to  elect  Lane,  and  hence  he  must  get 
the  trading  votes  of  at  least  two.  Both  Pomeroy  and  Par- 
rott were  ready  to  give  Lane  votes  for  an  equivalent,  while 


432  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Stanton's  friends  could  not  be  traded  to  Lane  for  any  con- 
sideration. The  same  was  true  of  some  of  the  supporters  of 
Pomeroy  and  Parrott.  Both  Pomeroy  and  Parrott  knew 
that  Lane  was  promising  the  same  men  to  each  in  exchange 
for  votes  for  himself,  and  did  not  dare  trust  his  election 
alone  and  first,  and  Lane  would  not  trust  them.  Accord- 
ingly both  senators  were  to  be  elected  at  one  roll-call.  As 
the  roll  was  called,  some  of  the  men  promised  by  Lane  to 
Parrott  voted  for  Pomeroy,  and  vice  versa.  Then  began 
changes  of  votes  which  continued  for  hours,  until  all  persons 
who  kept  the  tallies  were  completely  confused.  Finally 
voting  ceased,  and  the  clerks  agreed  to  announce  Pomeroy 
and  Lane  as  elected,  although  many  believed  they  were  not. 
At  this  election  every  appliance  was  used  ever  brought  into 
requisition  in  the  older  States,  such  as  bribery  with  money 
and  bribery  with  promise  of  office,  flattery,  threats,  and  every 
weapon  that  promised  to  procure  a  vote. 

Before  the  close  of  the  session  of  the  Legislature,  Sumter 
was  fired  upon  by  the  Rebels,  and  war  was  inevitable.  A 
militia  law  was  passed,  also  authority  was  given  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, Secretary  of  State,  and  Auditor,  or  a  majority  of 
them,  to  issue  $150,000  of  seven  per  cent,  bonds,  to  be  sold 
at  a  minimum  of  seventy  per  cent. ;  and  the  treasurer  was 
authorized  to  sell  ten  per  cent,  war  bonds  for  $20,000,  to  be 
sold  by  him  price  unlimited. 

The  sum  of  $12,000  was  realized  from  the  latter  in  the 
market,  but  the  other  bonds  had  no  market  value.  The 
Governor  wrote  and  telegraphed  to  Eastern  brokers,  but 
could  get  no  offers.  The  claim  was  that  Kansas  might  be 
compelled  to  go  with  Missouri  into  the  Confederacy,  and 
nobody  wanted  her  bonds.  Even  Minnesota,  Wisconsin, 
and  Iowa  could  realize  but  little  for  their  bonds,  some  of 
them  selling  as  low  as  forty  per  cent.  While  the  Gov- 
ernor abandoned  all  efforts  to  sell  Kansas  bonds  in  the 
market,  the  Secretary  and  Auditor  went  to  Washington,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  Pomeroy,  Lane,  and  Conway,  sold 


SALE    OF    STATE  BONDS.  433 

some  of  them  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  for  Indian 
money,  realizing  to  the  State  sixty  per  cent.  Colonel  R.  S. 
Stevens  was  employed  by  the  Secretary  and  Auditor,  who 
made  the  negotiations.  The  Department  paid  eighty-five 
per  cent.,  but  the  State  officers  could  get  but  sixty  per  cent. 
Where  the  difference  between  the  price  paid  and  received 
went,  except  $500  to  Lane's  private  secretary,  never  ap- 
peared, but  at  the  trial  for  impeachment  it  was  shown  that 
neither  of  the  State  officers  who  were  parties  to  the  transac- 
tion received  any  of  it.  It  was  well  understood  at  the  time 
that  the  negotiations  could  be  made  on  no  other  terms,  and 
it  was  also  understood  that  the  agent  for  the  Secretary  and 
Auditor  received  no  more  than  the  usual  rate  for  his  ser- 
vices. Perhaps  persons  familiar  with  such  matters  at  the 
Departments  in  war  times  can  understand  it.  That  the  Sec- 
retary and  Auditor  tried  hard  to  get  all  the  money  paid  for 
the  bonds,  except  a  reasonable  fee  to  their  agent,  and  that 
they  for  a  time  refused  to  take  less  than  seventy  per  cent., 
was  evident.  The  question  for  them  to  decide  was  whether 
to  take  sixty  per  cent,  for  the  State  or  nothing,  and  as  the 
State  had  no  money,  they  took  what  they  could  get,  believ- 
ing they  were  thus  doing  the  State  a  great  favor.  Although 
at  the  instigation  of  Lane  they  were  afterwards  impeached, 
no  taint  of  corruption  or  dishonor  attached  to  either.  They 
were  proceeded  against  simply  because  Lane  wanted  the 
Governor  out  of  his  way,  and  supposed  he  could  either  con- 
nect him  with  the  sale  of  bonds,  or  at  least  put  him  under 
a  cloud  until  the  State  Senate  should  try  the  impeachment. 
But  he  failed  to  do  more  than  connect  his  name  with  the 
others  in  the  House  finding,  while  he  procured  the  convic- 
tion of  two  of  his  political  friends,  and  caused  them  to  die 
of  broken  hearts. 

28 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

TROOPS    CALLED. LANE'S    BRIGADE   AND    JAY-HAWKING. — 

LANE'S  INFLUENCE  AT  WASHINGTON. 

No  sooner  were  laws  passed  "by  the  new  State  Legislature 
than  there  was  occasion  for  their  use.  The  first  call  of  the 
President  for  troops  to  put  down  the  rebellion  was  issued 
April  15,  1861,  for  seventy-five  thousand  men,  and  although 
none  were  allotted  to  Kansas,  she  furnished  six  hundred  and 
fifty.  The  Governor,  from  his  knowledge  of  the  enemy  and  his 
experience,  believed  that  the  war  would  be  a  long  and  bitter 
one,  and  at  once  organized  the  State  militia,  hoping  to  have 
every  able-bodied  man  enlisted.  J.  C.  Stone  of  Leaven- 
worth  was  appointed  Major-General  of  the  Northern  Divi- 
sion, and  James  Blood  of  the  Southern.  In  a  short  time 
over  two  hundred  companies  were  duly  organized.  But 
soon  came  calls  for  volunteers  for  three  years  or  during  the 
war,  and  every  one  of  these  calls  was  responded  to  by  twice 
as  many  men  as  called  for.  During  the  term  of  the  first 
Governor  calls  were  made  upon  Kansas  for  5006  men,  and 
10,639  were  furnished.  The  people  of  no  State  in  the 
Union  understood  this  war  better  than  those  of  Kansas,  and 
no  people  could  have  been  more  ready  to  enlist.  But  while 
the  State  was  thus  patriotic  and  loyal,  the  tocsin  of  war  was 
the  signal  for  the  resurrection  of  all  the  thieves,  plunderers, 
and  murderers  of  the  territorial  days.  Montgomery  and  Jen- 
nison,  it  is  true,  called  upon  the  Governor  after  admission  to 
the  Union,  and  pledged  loyalty  to  the  State  Government ; 
and  the  first  was  appointed  colonel,  and  the  second  given  a 


JAY-HAWKERS.  435 

letter  to  General  Fremont.  It  was  believed  that  if  they  were 
in  the  United  States  service  their  warlike  propensities  would 
be  gratified  in  a  legitimate  manner.  No  complaints  were 
made  of  Montgomery  on  the  score  of  irregular  warfare,  but 
Jennison  acquired  a  bad  name  before  the  war  was  ended. 
Montgomery  later  went  South  and  took  command  of  a 
negro  regiment.  T.  W.  Higginson,  who  also  had  command 
of  a  like  regiment  in  the  same  locality,  is  reported  as  saying 
in  a  speech  at  Topeka  that  Montgomery  had  the  "  egotism 
of  a  fanatic,  a  superficial  fanaticism  in  which  self  came  up- 
permost. *  *  *  While  he  was  pronounced  utterly  inca- 
pable of  any  large  comman'd,  hating  all  drill  and  all  fixed 
routine,  he  would  shoot  his  own  soldiers  without  trial,  and 
claim  that  he  had  the  direct  command  of  God." 

Montgomery  and  Brown  were  alike  in  capacity.  Neither 
could  command  successfully  more  than  a  score  of  men,  and 
each  was  adapted  for  such  exploits  as  killing,  plundering, 
and  bushwhacking  on  the  borders  of  Kansas  and  Missouri. 
But  the  thieves  and  plunderers  did  not  lack  leaders,  even 
though  Montgomery,  Jennison,  and  Brown  were  otherwise 
occupied.  They  organized  in  bands  and  conducted  their 
operations  with  as  much  order  as  the  regular  army.  At  first 
they  claimed  to  be  Free-State  and  hailed  from  Kansas,  and 
pretended  to  plunder  and  kill  only  pro-slavery  men  ;  but 
this  left  some  good  horses  and  other  desirable  property  be- 
yond their  reach,  as  it  belonged  to  men  of  their  own  party. 
However,  they  were  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  soon,  like 
bodies  of  thieves,  were  in  the  field,  claiming  to  be  pro-slavery, 
and  these  hailed  from  Missouri,  and  plundered  Free-State 
men.  Thus  the  people  of  the  border  counties  were  menaced 
by  these  outlaws,  whatever  their  political  views.  The 
authorities  in  both  States  were  desirous  of  protecting  their 
citizens  from  spoliation,  and  for  a  time  partially  succeeded, 
the  Governor  of  Kansas  returning  the  spoils  taken  from 
Missouri,  and  authorities  in  Missouri  reciprocating  the  favor 
to  citizens  of  Kansas. 


436  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

But  now  James  H.  Lane  reappears  upon  the  stage.  Al- 
though before  his  election  to  the  Senate  he  was  always  in  a 
minority,  after  that  election  he  became  omnipotent.  Kan- 
sas had  just  passed  through  a  severe  drought,  and  all  the 
people  were  poor  and  needy  and  desirous  of  securing  the 
means  of  subsistence  for  themselves  and  families.  As  noth- 
ing promised  to  relieve  them  so  satisfactorily  as  Government 
pap,  and  as  Lane  was  chief  dispenser  of  Federal  patron- 
age, he  at  once  became  a  political  autocrat.  He  evidently 
formed  a  compact  with  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War, 
and  was  not  only  to  be  senator  with  Federal  patronage,  but 
to  be  assisted  to  get  control  of  the  State  of  Kansas  so  far  as 
military  affairs  were  concerned.  Accordingly,  although  the 
Governor  had  doubled  the  quota  of  all  calls  upon  Kansas, 
Lane  was  given  authority  to  raise  and  officer  two  regiments, 
the  4th  and  5th,  and  to  have  command  of  a  brigade.  Un- 
der such  auspices  there  was  an  end  to  discipline  and  order, 
and  the  whole  border  was  despoiled. 

A  faint  picture  of  the  situation  may  be  had  by  reference 
to  official  correspondence  of  the  officers  of  the  United  States 
army. 

The  condition  of  Lane's  brigade  on  the  arrival  of  General 
Hunter  to  take  command  at  Fort  Leavenworth  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Hunter's  Adjutant-General,  Charles  G.  Halpine, 
March  14,  1862,  on  page  615,  eighth  volume  of  the  "  War 
of  the  Rebellion,"  as  follows  : 

"  Nothing  could  exceed  the  demoralized  condition  in  which  General 
Hunter  found  the  Third  and  Fourth  Kansas  Infantry  and  Fifth  and 
Sixth  Kansas  Cavalry,  formerly  known  as  "  Lane's  Brigade,"  on  his 
arrival  in  this  department.  The  regimental  and  company  commanders 
knew  nothing  of  their  duties,  and  apparently  had  never  made  returns 
or  reports  of  any  kind.  The  regiments  appeared  in  worse  condition 
than  they  could  possibly  have  been  in  during  the  first  week  of  their  en- 
listment, their  camps  being  little  better  than  vast  pig-pens,  officers  and 
men  sleeping  and  messing  together;  furloughs  in  immense  numbers  be- 
ing granted,  or,  where  not  granted,  taken  ;  drill  having  been  abandoned 
almost  wholly ;  and  the  men  constituting  a  mere  ragged,  half-armed, 


LANE'S    BRIGADE.  437 

diseased,  and  mutinous  rabble,  taking  votes  as  to  whether  any  trouble- 
some or  distasteful  order  should  be  obeyed  or  defied. 

"  Vast  amounts  of  public  property  had  been  taken  from  the  depot  at 
Fort  Scott  and  Fort  Lincoln  without  requisition  or  any  form  of  respon- 
sibility, and  horses  in  great  quantities  and  at  extravagant  prices  had 
been  purchased  under  irregular  orders  and  paid  for  by  the  United 
States  ;  these  horses  being  then  turned  over  to  men  and  officers  who 
were  then  drawing  forty  cents  extra  per  day  for  them  as  private  property. 

' '  Without  troops  from  other  States  or  of  a  better  kind  to  hold  the 
mutinous  in  subjection,  General  Hunter  had  a  difficult  and  most  labo- 
rious task  in  the  administration  of  the  department.  The  few  officers 
willing  to  do  right,  if  they  knew  how,  had  to  be  instructed  in  nearly 
every  branch  of  their  duties,  and  this  was  the  more  difficult,  as  for  the 
first  two  months  the  department  was  almost  entirely  destitute  of  blanks, 
and  has  never  had  a  proper  supply. 

"  To  remedy  these  things,  mustering  officers  were  sent  to  remuster 
the  regiments  of  Lane's  Brigade  and  consolidate  the  companies  to  the 
minimum  standing,  mustering  out  the  surplus  officers  and  all  who  could 
prove  they  had  been  enlisted  as  Home  Guards  under  General  Lyon's 
call.  These  mustering  officers  found  that  the  companies  ranged  from 
twenty-five  to  sixty  men  each,  but  the  average  about  fifty,  each  having 
a  captain  and  two  lieutenants,  and  in  some  instances  more ;  and  had  the 
department,  as  previously,  been  without  troops  from  other  States,  there 
is  every  probability  that  a  general  mutiny  of  the  regiments  named 
would  have  taken  place,  instead  of  the  partial  mutinies  which  have  been 
suppressed." 

The  conduct  and  influence  of  Lane  and  his  brigade  is 
thus  referred  to  by  General  Halleck  in  a  letter  to  General 
McClellan,  dated  December  19,  1861  : 

"  The  conduct  of  the  forces  under  Lane  and  Jennison  has  done  more 
for  the  enemy  in  this  State  than  could  have-  been  accomplished  by 
twenty  thousand  of  his  own  army.  I  receive  almost  daily  complaints 
of  outrages  committed  by  these  men  in  the  name  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  evidence  is  so  conclusive  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their  correct- 
ness. It  is  rumored  that  Lane  has  been  made  a  brigadier-general.  I 
cannot  conceive  of  a  more  injudicious  appointment.  It  will  take  twenty 
thousand  men  to  counteract  its  effect  in  this  State,  and.  moreover,  it  is 
offering  a  premium  for  rascality  and  robbing  generally." 

General  McClellan  writes  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Feb- 
ruary n,  1862,  as  follows: 


438  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  HKADot'AR'I  KKS    OK    THK    ARMY, 

"  WASHINGTON,  February  n,  1862. 
"Hon.  E.  J\f.  Stanton,  Secretary  ofW'ar: 

"SlR:  I  would  respectfully  submit  to  you  the  following  extracts 
taken  from  the  report  of  Major  A.  Baird,  Assistant  Inspector-General, 
United  States  Army,  on  the  inspection  of  the  Kansas  troops,  viz.  : 

"  If  the  practice  of  seizing  and  confiscating  the  private  property  of 
rebels,  which  is  now  extensively  carried  on  by  the  troops  known  as 
Lane's  Brigade,  is  to  be  continued,  how  may  it  be  managed  so  as  to 
prevent  the  troops  being  demoralized  and  the  Government  defrauded? 

"  The  practice  has  become  so  fixed  and  general  that  I  am  convinced 
that  orders  arresting  it  would  not  be  obeyed,  and  that  the  only  way  of 
putting  a  stop  to  it  would  be  to  remove  the  Kansas  troops  to  some  other 
field  of  action. 

"  The  fact  that  the  property  of  citizens  has  been  seized  and  confis- 
cated by  the  troops  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  is  sub- 
stantiated by  both  official  and  reliable  private  evidence,  and  from  the 
frequent  repetition  of  these  acts  the  commanding  officers  in  Kansas  ap- 
pear to  have  assumed  its  legality.  The  authority  under  which  it  is 
done  is  unknown  to  me,  further  than  such  destruction  of  private 
property  as  is  unavoidable  from  a  state  of  war  conducted  according  to 
the  established  usages  of  civilized  nations.  I  would  therefore  request 
the  policy  of  the  Government  for  my  guidance  in  dealing  with  questions 
of  this  nature. 

"  To  what  extent  can  the  right  of  confiscation  legally  be  carried,  and 
by  what  tribunal,  civil  or  military,  are  the  questions  that  will  naturally 
arise  to  be  decided  that  the  innocent  will  not  suffer  while  punishing  the 
guilty,  and  that  the  dignity  and  justice  of  the  Government  may  not  be 
at  the  mercy  of  individuals  governed  by  cupidity  or  revenge?  This 
question  has  assumed  such  proportions  that  it  will  require  vigorous 
means  and  well-defined  authority  to  suppress  or  direct  its  application. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
"  GEO.  B.  McCi.Ki.LAN, 

"  Major-General  Commanding." 

General  Halleck  writes  to  Secretary  Stanton,  March  25, 
1862: 

"  SIR  :  Your  letter  of  the  igth  instant  in  relation  to  military  outrages 
in  Jackson  County,  Missouri,  is  just  received.  I  have  had  two  regi- 
ments stationed  or  moving  in  Jackson  County  for  some  time  past,  in 
order  to  put  a  stop  to  these  depredations.  This  is  as  much  as  I  can  do, 
for  many  other  counties  in  this  State  are  equally  urgent  in  their  calls 
for  protection,  and  to  gratify  them  all  would  require  an  army  of  fifty 


HALLECK    TO    STANTON.  439 

thousand  men  to  be  distributed  through  Missouri  in  addition  to  the 
militia. 

"  That  many  and  in  some  cases  horrible  outrages  have  been  com- 
mitted in  this  State,  I  do  not  doubt.  They  have  been  committed  by  three 
classes  of  persons  : 

"  ist.  The  enemy's  guerrilla  bands.  Since  the  expulsion  of  Price 
they  are  rapidly  diminishing.  Nevertheless  it  will  require  some  severe 
examples  to  be  made  in  order  to  suppress  them. 

"  2cl.  The  Kansas  jay-hawkers,  or  robbers,  who  were  organized 
under  the  auspices  of  Senator  Lane.  They  wear  the  uniform  of,  and  it 
is  believed  receive  pay  from,  the  United  States.  Their  principal  occu- 
pation for  the  last  six  months  seems  to  have  been  the  stealing  of  ne- 
groes, the  robbing  of  houses,  and  the  burning  of  barns,  grain,  and  for- 
age. The  evidence  of  their  crimes  is  unquestionable.  They  have  not 
heretofore  been  under  my  orders.  I  will  now  keep  them  out  of  Mis- 
souri or  have  them  shot." 

Confederate  General  Benjamin  McCullough  writes  to  the 
Confederate  Secretary  of  War,  J.  P.  Benjamin,  November 
19,  1 86 1,  as  follows: 

"  SIR:  I  shall  return  to  Arkansas,  put  my  troops  in  winter  quarters 
soon,  and  ask  permission  to  come  immediately  to  Richmond,  so  as  to 
give  to  the  Administration  correct  information  regarding  affairs  in  this 
region  before  it  acts  on  matters  here.  The  Federals  left  eight  days 
since  with  their  thousand  (?)  men,  quarreling  among  themselves,  and 
greatly  injured  their  cause  by  taking  negroes  belonging  to  Union  men. 
General  Lane  went  to  Kansas,  General  Hunter  to  Sedalia,  and  General 
Sigel  to  Rolla." 

General  Halleck  to  General  McClellan,  December  10, 
1 86 1 ,  writes  : 

"  I  am  satisfied  that  the  authorities  at  Washington  do  not  understand 
the  present  condition  of  affairs  in  Missouri.  The  conduct  of  our  troops 
during  Fremont's  campaign,  and  especially  the  course  pursued  by  those 
under  Lane  and  Jennison,  has  turned  against  us  many  thousands  who 
were  formerly  Union  men.  A  few  more  such  raids,  in  connection  with 
the  ultra  speeches  made  by  leading  men  in  Congress,  will  make  this 
State  as  unanimous  against  us  as  is  Eastern  Virginia. 

"  It  may  be  supposed  by  some  that  the  number  of  organized  Mis- 
souri regiments  in  this  department  indicates  a  different  feeling.  It 
should,  however,  be  remembered  that  nearly  all  of  these  so-called  Mis- 
souri regiments  are  composed  of  foreigners  or  men  from  other  States. 


440  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

From  a  dispassionate  examination  of  this  matter  in  all  its  bearings,  and 
after  conversing  with  leading  men  from  all  parts  of  this  country,  I  am 
satisfied  that  the  mass  of  the  people  here  are  against  us,  and  that  a 
single  false  step  or  defeat  will  ruin  our  cause. 

"  Can't  we   get   some  arms  soon?     I  cannot  move  without  them. 
Winter  is  already  upon  us,  and  I  fear  much  longer  delay  will  render  it 
exceedingly  difficult  to  operate,  and  yet  a  winter  campaign  seems  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  restore  our  lost  ascendancy  and  the  quiet  of  the  State. 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  H.  W.  HALLECK,  Major-General." 

Notwithstanding  this  and  more  official  evidence  of  the 
demoralization  and  crime  that  occurred  under  Lane's  verbal 
commission  to  roam  at  will  with  a  brigade  at  his  heels,  he 
was  not  satisfied,  and  wanted  the  President  to  give  him  a 
written  commission  for  a  campaign  into  New  Mexico  with 
an  army  under  his  control.  The  correspondence  of  the 
President,  Secretary  of  War,  and  others  concerning  this 
movement  reveals  conduct  scarcely  worthy  of  a  petty  prov- 
ince of  Mexico,  or  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  After  this  ex- 
pedition was  well  under  way — on  paper — General  Hunter 
wrote  the  following  letter : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  KANSAS, 

"  FORT  LKAVENWORTH,  KANSAS,  February  8,  1862. 
"  Major-General  H.  W.  Halleck,  Commanding  Department  of  Missouri, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.  : 

"  GENERAL:  Believing  that  the  public  interests  may  be  promoted  by 
an  interchange  of  views  between  us,  and  a  knowledge  with  each  (in 
some  general  sort)  of  what  the  other  intends,  I  venture  on  intruding 
some  outlines  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  this  department  on  your  at- 
tention. 

"  It  seems,  from  all  the  evidence  before  me,  that  Senator  |.  11.  Lane 
has  been  trading  at  Washington  on  a  capital  made  up  partly  of  his  own 
senatorial  position  and  partly  of  such  scraps  of  influence  as  I  may  have 
possessed  in  the  confidence  or  esteem  of  the  President,  said  si-raps  hav- 
ing been  '  jay-hawked '  by  the  Kansas  senator  without  due  consent  of 
the  proper  owner. 

"  In  other  words,  I  find  that  '  Lane's  great  Southern  expedition  '  was 
entertained  and  sanctioned  by  the  President  under  misrepresentations 
made  by  somebody  to  the  effect  that  said  '  expedition  '  \vus  the  joint 
design  and  wish  of  Senator  Lane  and  myself.  Mr.  Lincoln  doubtless 


HUNTER   TO    HALLECK.  441 

thought  he  was  obliging  me,  and  aimed  to  oblige  me  in  the  matter,  but 
so  little  was  I  personally  consulted,  that  to  this  hour  I  am  in  ignorance 
of  what  were  the  terms  or  striking  points  of  Senator  Lane's  programme. 
Never,  to  this  hour,  has  Senator  Lane  consulted  me  on  the  subject, 
directly  or  indirectly,  while  the  authorities  at  Washington  have  preserved 
a  similar  indiscreet  reticence,  thinking,  no  doubt  (as  General  Thomas 
intimates  in  a  recent  letter),  that  as  the  plan  was  of  my  own  concoction 
in  joint  committee  of  two  with  Senator  Lane,  there  could  be  no  use,  but 
rather  an  impertinence,  in  any  third  parties  trying  to  explain  the  general 
drift  and  details  to  one  of  the  original  patentees. 

"  Thus  I  am  left  in  ignorance,  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  you 
have  been  more  favored. 

"  Your  co-operation  certainly  would  be  necessary  to  make  effective 
any  such  expedition  as  that  talked  of,  and  as  you  have  never  been  sus- 
pected of  enjoying  Senator  Lane's  confidence  and  sharing  his  counsels, 
I  think  it  more  than  probable  that  the  veil  of  mystery  must  have  been 
lifted  in  your  particular  case.  If  so,  let  me  know,  for  otherwise  I  must 
lower  myself  in  the  estimation  of  the  authorities  at  Washington  by  con- 
fessing that  I  have  never  at  any  time,  directly  or  indirectly,  consulted 
with  or  been  consulted  by  the  Kansas  senator  in  reference  to  this  or 
any  other  military  operation  whatever,  and  that  as  to  any  brotherly  con- 
fidence between  us,  there  is  just  about  as  much  now  as  there  ever  was. 

"  You  can  hardly  conceive  to  what  an  extent  the  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington have  carried  their  faith  in  the  representations  of  Mr.  Lane  and 
their  belief  in  a  sort  of  Damon  and  Pythias  affection  between  that  gen- 
tleman and  myself.  Regiments  have  been  sent  here  with  orders  to 
'  report  for  duty  with  the  forces  under  General  J.  H.  Lane ;  '  blanks 
telegraphed  for  by  me  have  been  shipped  to  '  Brigadier-General  Lane, 
Fort  Leaven  worth,'  and  have  never  reached  these  headquarters.  In 
fact,  I  may  say  that,  so  far  as  Washington  was  concerned,  the  Kansas 
senator  would  seem  to  have  effectually  '  jay-hawked  '  out  of  the  minds  of 
the  War  Department  any  knowledge  or  remembrance  of  the  general 
commanding  this  department. 

"  And  now  we  have  reached  an  aspect  of  the  case  which  would  be 
intensely  ridiculous,  if  it  were  not  so  fraught  with  humiliation  to  offi- 
cials and  detriment  to  the  public  service.  I  am  daily  receiving  letters 
from  majors,  colonels,  and  lieutenant-colonels,  announcing  that  they 
have  been  appointed  additional  aides-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  General 
McClellan,  with  orders  to  report  to  me  in  person,  that  I  may  again 
order  them  to  report  on  the  staff  of  '  Brigadier-General  J.  H.  Lane.' 

"  The  trouble  is,  that  I  know  of  no  such  brigadier-general,  Senator 
Lane  having  told  me  expressly  and  in  terms,  at  the  only  interview  we 
have  had  since  his  return  to  Kansas,  that  he  had  not  accepted  his  com- 
mission, and  was  only  my  visitor  '  as  senator  and  member  of  the  Mili- 


442  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

tary  Committee  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.'  I  may  add  that  in 
the  opinion  of  those  who  know  him  best  it  is  not  his  intention  to  accept 
the  brigadiership,  his  hue  and  cry  for  that  position  having  only  been 
raised  at  a  time  when  he  thought  it  probable  that  Stanton  (or  whoso- 
ever was  Governor  Robinson's  nominee)  might  oust  him  from  the  Sen- 
ate. They  say  that  he  will  never  resign  his  seat  in  the  Senate  unless 
he  can  have  supreme  control  of  this  department,  with  liberty  to  appoint 
his  personal  adherents  and  the  legion  of  army  contractors  who  follow  in 
his  wake  in  charge  of  the  quartermaster's  and  subsistence  departments 
of  the  public  service  in  Kansn.-..  T'.is  >tatcment  I  believe. 

"  As  to  the  vote  obtained  by  him  in  the  Kansas  Legislature,  asking 
that  he  be  appointed  major-general,  etc.,  I  have  heard  from  men  thor- 
oughly informed  that  it  was  also  '  jay-hawked '  from  the  reluctant  lips 
of  an  overwhelming  opposition  majority  by  Lane's  positive  promise  to 
resign  his  senatorship  forthwith  in  case  it  was  passed.  This  made  all 
Lane's  legislative  enemies  his  most  active  friends,  on  the  principle  of 
'  anything  to  get  rid  of  him,'  and  all  the  aspirants  for  his  seat  at  once  im- 
pressed their  friends  into  voting  anything  that  would  create  a  vacancy. 

"  Now  what  is  to  be  done  with  this  erractic  senator,  or  how  are  the 
authorities  at  Washington  to  be  convinced  that  it  is  neither  wise  nor 
quite  decorous  to  act  in  matters  vitally  affecting  a  department  without 
the  knowledge  or  sanction  of  the  department  commander?  On  these 
points  I  have  to  ask  light  from  you,  my  '  confidential '  relations  being 
apparently  confined  to  Senator  Lane,  while  you,  and  very  deservedly, 
I  confess,  are  believed  to  receive  beams  from  the  light  of  '  the  inner 
sanctuary.' 

"  Disappointed  himself,  Lane  is  now  bent  on  making  trouble  and 
obstructing  the  expedition  which  he  finds  he  cannot  control.  He  is  be- 
stirring himself  in  a  thousand  little  irritating  processes,  trying  to  make 
a  quarrel  or  '  disagreement '  with  me  his  pretext  for  backing  out  of  an 
employment  which  he  never  intended  to  accept.  As  a  specimen  of  the 
work  he  is  at,  and  the  friends  he  is  working  with,  I  send  you  this  copy 
of  a  telegram  sent  to  him  a  few  days  since,  a  copy  having  been  sent  to 
me  by  a  friend  at  Washington  : 

"  '  General  Lane,  Fort  Lcareitworth  :  '  ^  AM!1Nt; "'v 

'  '  I  have  been  with  the  man  you  name.  Hunter  will  not  get  the 
money  or  men  he  requires.  His  command  cannot  go  forward.  Hold 
on.  Don't  resign  your  seat.  „  ,  ^  CovODE , 

"  And  now,  having  given  you  a  pretty  thorough  insight  of  the  shape 
of  matters  here,  and  reserving  a  statement  of  my  own  plans  and  the 
military  condition  of  the  department  for  another  letter,  I  am,  General, 
very  truly  and  obediently  yours,  1(  D  HuNTER  »» 


HALLECK    TO    HUNTER.  443 

This  was  answered  as  follows : 

"  ST.  Louis,  February  13,  1862. 

"  Major-General  D.  Hunter,  Commanding  Department  of  Kansas,  Fort 
Leavenivorth,  Kansas  • 

"  GENERAL:  Your  very  kind  letter  of  the  8th  is  this  moment  re- 
ceived. I  must  write  you  a  very  hasty  answer  to-day.  You  are  entirely 
mistaken  about  my  having  received  any  information,  official  or  unofficial, 
from  Washington  about  the  '  great  jay-hawking  expedition.'  Not  a 
word  or  hint  has  been  communicated  to  me.  Orders  were  sent  by  Gen- 
eral Thomas  direct  to  various  regiments  in  this  department  to  immedi- 
ately repair  to  Fort  Leaven  worth  and  report  to  General  Hunter  as  a 
part  of  General  Lane's  expedition.  No  notice  of  such  orders  was  given 
to  me.  To  put  a  stop  to  these  irregularities  I  issued  General  Orders, 
No.  8,  and  protested  both  to  General  Thomas  and  General  McClellan 
against  such  an  irregular  and  unmilitary  proceeding.  No  reply.  I 
stopped  some  of  the  troops  on  their  way,  and  reported  that  they  could 
not  move  till  some  order  was  sent  to  me.  No  reply. 

"  I  am  satisfied  that  there  have  been  many  of  such  orders  issued  di- 
rectly by  the  President  and  Secretary  Cameron  without  consulting  Gen- 
eral McClellan,  and  for  that  reason  no  reply  could  be  given  without  ex- 
posing the  plans  of  the  great  jay-hawker  and  the  imposition  of  himself 
and  Cameron  on  the  President.  Perhaps  this  is  the  key  to  the  silence 
of  the  authorities  at  Washington.  I  know  nothing  on  the  subject  ex- 
cept what  I  see  in  the  newspapers. 

"  In  regard  to  my  own  plans,  they  are  very  simple.  I  have  sent 
some  sixteen  thousand  or  seventeen  thousand  men,  under  General  Cur- 
tis, against  Price  at  Springfield.  He  has  been  reinforced  by  Mclntosh, 
and  it  is  said  that  Van  Dorn  and  Frost  are  also  marching  to  his  relief. 
If  it  would  be  possible  for  you  to  move  a  cavalry  force  rapidly  by  Fort 
Scott  to  threaten  Price's  right  flank,  it  would  have  a  most  excellent 
effect.  This  possibly  was  the  original  intention  of  Lane's  expedition, 
but  I  protested  to  Washington  against  any  of  his  jay-hawkers  coming 
into  this  department,  saying  positively  that  I  would  arrest  and  disarm 
every  one  I  could  catch. 

"  The  remainder  of  all  my  available  force  will  be  sent  to  the  lines  of 
the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee.  Who  will  take  the  immediate  com- 
mand there  is  not  yet  determined. 

' '  Yours  in  haste, 

"  H.  W.  HALLECK." 

When  the  Governor  of  Kansas  had  learned  from  what 
appeared  to  be  reliable  authority  that  the  President  had  ap- 
pointed Senator  Lane  brigadier-general  he  gave  Frederick 


444  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

P.  Stanton  a  commission  as  United  States  senator  for  Lane's 
seat.  About  this  time  Lane  skulked  back  to  his  seat  in  the 
Senate,  and  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War  said  no 
general's  appointment  had  ever  been  made. 

Although  Hunter  had  been  given  a  hint  that  if  he  desired 
a  leave  of  absence  for  about  twenty  days  he  could  probably 
have  it,  while  Lane  should  take  his  army  to  New  Mexico, 
he  concluded  to  continue  in  the  field  and  go  in  person  to 
attend  to  the  foraging  and  other  matters.  He  accordingly 
issued  an  order  as  follows : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  KANSAS, 

"  FORT  LEAVEN-WORTH,  KANSAS,  January  27,  1862. 

"  I.  In  the  expedition  about  to  go  South  from  this  department,  called 
in  the  newspapers  General  Lane's  expedition,  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
major-general  commanding  the  department  to  command  in  person,  un- 
less otherwise  expressly  ordered  by  the  Government. 

"  2.  Transportation  not  having  been  supplied,  we  must  go  without  it. 
All  tents,  trunks,  chests,  chairs,  tables,  campstools,  etc.,  must  be  at 
once  stored  or  abandoned.  The  general  commanding  takes  in  his  valise 
one  shirt,  one  pair  of  drawers,  one  pair  of  socks,  and  one  handkerchief, 
and  no  officer  or  soldier  will  carry  more.  The  surplus  room  in  the 
knapsack  must  be  reserved  for  ammunition  and  provisions.  Every  offi- 
cer and  soldier  will  carry  his  own  clothing  and  bedding. 

"  3.  The  general  commanding  has  applied  to  the  Government  for  six 
brigadier-generals,  that  his  command  may  be  properly  organized.  Un- 
til their  arrival,  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  appoint  acting  brigadier- 
generals  from  the  senior  colonels.  To  enable  him  to  do  this,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  order  on  the  subject,  each  colonel  will  immediately  report 
the  day  on  which  he  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

"    1  ).    Ilr.NTKR, 

"  Major-General  Commanding." 

This  order,  with  the  commission  to  Stanton  as  senator, 
"  broke  the  camel's  back,"  and  Senator-General-Governor 
Lane  wrote  to  his  friend,  John  Covode,  January  27,  1862, 
as  follows : 

"See  the  President,  Secretary  of  War,  and  General  McClellan  — 
answer  what  I  shall  do.  ,,  ,  ,,  ,  ,, 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  here  ended  the  great  Lane 


MARTIAL    LAW.  445 

expedition,  and  the  following  order,  declaring  martial  law, 
ended  the  jay-hawkers  while  Hunter  remained  in  command. 

"  GENERAL  ORDERS,  No.  17, 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  KANSAS, 

"  FORT  LEAVENWORTH,  KANSAS,  February  8,  1862. 

"  I.  The  civil  authorities  of  Kansas  being  manifestly  unable  to  pre- 
serve the  peace  and  give  due  security  to  life  and  property,  and  having 
in  various  instances  notified  the  general  commanding  of  their  inability 
to  uphold  the  laws  unassisted  by  the  military  arm,  and  the  crime  of 
armed  depredations  or  jay-hawking  having  reached  a  height  dangerous 
to  the  peace  and  property  of  the  whole  State  and  seriously  compromis- 
ing the  Union  cause  in  the  border  counties  of  Missouri :  Now,  there- 
fore, martial  law  is  declared  throughout  the  State  of  Kansas,  and  will 
be  enforced  with  vigor. 

"  II.  It  is  not  intended  by  this  declaration  to  interfere  with  or  super- 
sede the  action  of  the  civil  authorities  in  cases  of  the  ordinary  nature 
with  which  said  civil  authorities  may  be  competent  to  deal,  but  it  is  the 
resolve  of  the  general  commanding  that  the  crime  of  jay-hawking  shall 
be  put  down  with  a  strong  hand  and  by  summary  process,  and  for  this 
purpose  the  trial  of  all  prisoners  charged  with  armed  depredations 
against  property  or  assaults  upon  life  will  be  conducted  before  the  mili- 
tary commissions  provided  for  in  General  Orders,  No.  12,  of  this  de- 
partment, current  series,  and  the  interference  of  the  civil  authorities  in 
such  cases  is  prohibited. 

"  III.  A  suitable  provost-marshal,  with  the  necessary  officers  and 
force,  will  immediately  be  appointed  to  carry  out  the  terms  of  this  order. 

"  By  order  of  Major-General  Hunter. 

"  CHAS.  G.  HALPINE, 
"  Major  and  Assistant  Adjutant-General." 

General  Hunter  was  succeeded  by  General  Denver,  in 
spite  of  the  strong  objections  of  Lane.  Denver  had  been 
Governor  in  Kansas,  and  Lane  could  not  use  or  frighten 
him.  It  would  seem  that  Secretary  Stanton  at  this  time  for 
some  reason  could  not  be  used  by  Lane  as  aforetime.  E. 
A.  Hitchcock,  aid-de-camp  to  the  Secretary,  writes  to  Gen- 
eral Halleck  from  Washington,  March  22,  1862,  in  part  as 
follows : 

"  General  H.   W.  Halleck,  etc.,  St.  Louis: 

"  MY  DEAR  GENERAL:  I  have  just  left  the  Secretary  (late  in  the 
evening).  When  about  to  bid  him  good-evening  he  conversationally 


446  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

told  me  that  Jim  Lane  had  been  to  him  to-day  with  an  order  from  the 
President  for  you  not  to  put  Denver  in  command  in  Kansas,  but  that 
Davies  (a  recent  appointment  from  New  York)  was  to  be  assigned  to 
that  command. 

"  He  told  me  that  his  answer  to  Lane  was  a  positive  refusal  to  at- 
tend to  any  such  order,  and  if  its  enforcement  should  be  attempted  he 
would  leave  the  office.  " 

Probably  this  man  Davies  was  the  same  man  that  report 
said  President  Johnson  afterwards  promised  to  appoint  Col- 
lector of  New  York  if  Lane  would  defeat  the  Civil-tenure- 
of-office  Bill.  He  was  said  to  be  a  relative  of  Lane. 

When  January,  1863,  arrived,  the  first  State  Governor 
gladly  delivered  up  the  executive  chair  to  his  successor,  Gov- 
ernor Thomas  Carney.  Enough  had  been  seen  and  experi- 
enced of  the  management  of  the  war  in  the  West,  permitting 
the  most  brutal  and  inhuman  outrages,  all  to  gratify  personal 
greed,  malice,  or  ambition,  to  disgust  any  person  not  entirely 
given  over  to  subsisting  upon  human  misery.  Governor 
Carney,  being  a  friend  of  Lane,  issued  commissions  at  first 
to  Lane's  appointees  in  the  army  whom  Robinson  refused  to 
commission,  but  he  soon  tired  of  the  business  of  being  sim- 
ply an  automaton,  and  proposed  to  be  Governor  in  fact  as 
well  as  in  name.  This,  of  course,  made  trouble,  and  the 
President  was  visited  and  finally  concluded  to  recognize 
Kansas  as  a  loyal  State  entitled  to  some  consideration  by 
the  Federal  Government. 

Under  Governor  Carney's  administration  the  retaliatory- 
raids,  which  Robinson  had  feared  and  guarded  against  as 
best  he  could,  occurred,  including  the  massacre  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-three  of  the  people  of  Lawrence  by  Quan- 
trell,  August  21,  1863.  The  border  was  now  under  control 
of  volunteer  generals  and  other  officers,  with  Lane  as  master 
of  ceremonies,  although  without  a  commission.  It  was  no 
secret  that  an  expedition  in  the  border  counties  of  Missouri 
was  preparing  to  enter  Kansas  in  retaliation  for  the  outrages 
of  Lane  and  his  thieves,  yet  it  was  permitted  by  a  Union 
force  of  one  hundred  men  to  march  forty  miles  to  Lawrence, 


QUANTRELL'S    RAID.  447 

kill  nearly  two  hundred  people  and  burn  the  town,  spending 
three  or  four  hours  at  the  work  of  destruction  before  Federal 
officers  could  straighten  out  their  red  tape  and  join  in  pur- 
suit. However,  after  leaving  what  was  left  of  Lawrence, 
about  three  hundred  citizens  and  Federal  troops  were  rallied 
under  Lane  and  Colonel  Plumb,  who  did  escort  duty  to  the 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  men  under  Quantrell.  They 
escorted  them  over  the  line  into  Missouri  with  due  consider- 
ation, not  a  gun  being  fired  or  a  man  injured.  It  should 
not  be  inferred,  however,  that  Lane  was  afraid  of  blood  or 
opposed  to  killing  people,  as  afterwards,  when  Quantrell 
was  not  near,  he  marched  through  some  of  the  counties  of 
Missouri  and  made  a  clean  sweep  of  all  men  found,  whether 
Union  or  dis- Union.  Quantrell  was  more  considerate  than 
Lane  had  been,  as  he  told  one  of  his  prisoners,  taken  at  the 
Eldridge  House,  that  he  should  spare  the  women  from  out- 
rage, which  Lane  in  his  raids  in  Missouri  did  not  do.  He 
also  said,  as  Robinson,  while  Governor,  did  what  he  could 
to  preserve  peace  on  the  border,  he  should  not  molest  him 
or  his  property.  Of  this  intention  Robinson  had  no  knowl- 
edge, but  both  his  person  and  property  were  spared,  al- 
though the  raiders  were  within  a  short  distance  of  him,  and 
in  full  view,  and  could  have  destroyed  him  and  his  property 
without  trouble.  Had  the  raid  not  been  for  retaliation  for 
similar  raids  in  Missouri,  there  is  no  reason  why  Robinson's 
property  should  not  have  shared  the  fate  of  Lane's,  nor  why 
he  should  not  have  been  killed  as  were  others  when  com- 
pletely in  the  power  of  the  raiders. 

So  great  was  the  shock  to  the  country  of  this  Quantrell 
retribution  that  it  was  necessary  something  should  be  done  to 
obscure  the  delinquencies  of.  the  officials,  and  "  General  Or- 
der No.  1 1  "  was  issued,  depopulating  some  of  the  border 
counties  of  Missouri.  Loyal  and  disloyal  citizens  alike  had 
to  vacate  and  leave  their  homes  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
thieves  and  despoilers,  who  left  nothing  but  chimney-stacks 
as  monuments  of  the  desolation  in  their  wake.  This  order 


448  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

was  a  most  humiliating  confession  of  the  utter  failure  of  the 
war  of  rapine  permitted,  if  not  encouraged,  by  the  officials  at 
Washington  under  Lane  and  his  red-leg  thieves,  whether 
within  or  without  the  ranks  of  the  army.  Had  the  President 
favored  the  policy  of  protecting  non-combatants,  as  the  offi- 
cials of  the  State  of  Missouri  and  Kansas  desired,  "  Order 
No.  1 1  "  would  have  never  been  needed,  and  Quantrell's 
raid  at  Lawrence  would  never  have  occurred. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Kansas  troops  referred 
to  by  the  general  officers  and  by  the  writer  comprise  only  a 
small  portion  under  the  control  or  influence  of  Lane  and  his 
partisans.  The  large  majority  of  Kansas  troops  were  under 
control  of  honorable  officers,  who  despised  such  conduct  and 
would  have  no  share  in  it.  The  bulk  of  Kansas  troops  made 
an  honorable  record,  and  no  State  could  excel  Kansas  in  the 
proportion  furnished  to  the  army,  or  show  a  greater  per- 
centage lost  in  battle.  Kansas  may  be  justly  proud  of  her 
war  record,  with  these  exceptions,  and  will  not  fail  to  confer 
the  highest  honors  upon  her  brave  warriors. 

One  other  raid,  called  the  "  Price  raid,"  menaced  Kansas, 
but  General  Pleasanton  was  close  in  Price's  rear,  while  Gen- 
eral Deitzler,  in  command  of  about  ten  thousand  of  the 
State  militia.  Curtis.  1'lair.  Moonlight,  and  others  met  him 
on  the  State  line.  He  beat  a  hasty  retreat  towards  Arkan- 
sas, and  the  war  clouds  on  the  border  were  dissipated.  It 
has  been  unfashionable  and  unpopular  to  breathe  the  least 
criticism  of  the  conduct  of  the  late  war,  and  of  its  officers, 
from  the  President  down,  but  the  time  has  passed  when  it 
will  be  deemed  honorable  warfare  to  kill  and  outrage  women 
and  children,  flocks,  herds,  and  "  all  that  breathe,"  of  the 
enemy.  Non-combatants,  whether  friends  or  foes,  are  en- 
titled to  be  recognized  as  human  beings ;  and  that  officer, 
whatever  his  rank,  who  will  use  his  soldiers  to  persecute  and 
despoil  innocent  people  is  a  cowardly  brute,  and  should  be 
held  up  to  the  scorn  and  contempt  of  civilized  people.  It 
is  remarkable  that  the  two  men  who  were  conspicuous  for 


SOL.    MILLER    ON    THE    WAR.  449 

permitting  or  practicing  inhuman  atrocities  are  said  to  have 
committed  suicide  to  be  rid  of  their  own  society.  As  time 
goes  on,  the  facts  of  the  late  war  will  come  to  the  surface, 
men  will  dare  to  publish  them,  and  then  will  be  a  "  revalua- 
tion "  of  Stanton  and  Lane  as  there  has  been  of  John  Brown. 
While  the  latter  lived,  he  and  all  his  friends  denied  some  of 
his  most  important  acts,  and  manufactured  a  condition  of 
affairs  that  had  no  foundation  in  fact  that  they  might  have  a 
consistent  hero ;  but  some  men  have  dared  to  look  beneath 
the  surface  and  have  discovered  that  the  beautiful  struct- 
ure of  which  is  made  a  hero  rests  upon  "falsework"  only 
and  as  soon  as  this  shall  be  removed  down  comes  the  hero. 
So  in  regard  to  Stanton  and  Lane,  some  are  already  daring 
to  speak  out  gently  and  tell  some  truths,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  it  will  not  be  long  "before  the  whole  truth  can  be  told. 
Hon.  Sol.  Miller,  a  most  determined  Republican,  and  the 
most  popular  as  well  as  the  best-informed  editor  in  Kansas, 
referring  to  the  writer's  address  before  the  Loyal  Legion,  has 
this  to  say  of  Lincoln  and  Stanton : 

"  All  the  statements  made  by  the  Governor  were  facts.  The  treat- 
ment of  the  loyal  Governor  of  Kansas  by  President  Lincoln  and  Secre- 
tary Stanton,  at  the  instance  of  Lane,  was  most  shameful.  The  Gov- 
ernor of  no  other  loyal  State  was  so  treated.  It  was  and  still  is  unac- 
countable how  a  man  like  Lincoln  could  do  such  a  thing.  It  has  left  a 
stain  upon  his  Administration  that  even  his  martyrdom  cannot  efface. 
It  may  have  been  through  the  malign  influence  of  Stanton,  who  is 
known  in  history  as  the  '  Great  War  Secretary,'  but  who  did  many 
things  that  would  not  do  honor  to  his  memory  if  daylight  were  let  in 
upon  them.  There  is  no  doubt  that  his  arbitrary  and  even  tyrannical 
rule  caused  many  disasters  to  the  Union  armies,  and  sent  many  a  gen- 
eral into  disgrace,  who,  if  let  alone,  might  have  won  honorable  fame. 
The  stipulation  demanded  by  General  Grant  before  he  would  consent  to 
take  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  that  his  command  must 
be  absolute,  without  any  interference  whatever  from  the  Secretary  ct 
War,  shows  that  Stanton  was  known  and  dreaded  by  the  officers ;  and 
Grant's  success  where  all  others  had  failed  leaves  a  dark  suspicion  of 
the  calamities  that  Stanton's  influence  brought  about.  We  do  not 
doubt  that  his  influence  was  responsible  for  much  of  the  trouble  in 
Kansas." 
29 


45°  THK    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Mr.  Miller  refers  to  the  situation  in  Kansas  during  the 
war  in  his  paper  of  February,  1891,  in  answer  to  a  letter  of 
inquiry,  as  follows  • 

"  Have  you  ever  heard  of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Jim  Lane?  Well, 
he  wanted  to  be  all  of  Kansas.  He  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Even  his  enemies  gracefully  ac- 
quiesced,  and  were  willing  to  sustain  him  in  his  position.  But  he  was 
not  satisfied  with  that.  He  not  only  determined  to  have  all  his  op- 
ponents under  his  feet,  but  to  have  full  control  of  the  State  Government. 
Where  his  partisans  were  not  in  positions,  he  undertook  to  put  them 
there,  by  means  apparently  regular,  or  by  foul  means,  as  the  case  de- 
manded. Not  only  did  he  determine  to  be  her  senator,  but  Governor 
of  the  State  also,  and  a  department  commander  in  the  army,  and  to  dic- 
tate all  the  army  appointments  of  the  State,  rightfully  belonging  to  the 
Governor ;  and  he  actually  did  usurp  this  power,  by  permission  of  the 
President  and  the  Secretary  of  War — an  outrage  committed  upon  no 
other  loyal  State  in  the  Union.  This  was  not  all :  a  system  of  terrorism 
was  practiced  upon  loyal  citizens  who  were  not  in  the  army,  by  means 
of  deputy  marshals,  so-called  detectives,  and  desperate,  irresponsible 
men  under  other  guises,  to  keep  them  in  subjection  to  the  wishes  of 
Lane.  And  yet  this  was  not  all :  gangs  of  reckless  armed  men  infested 
every  community  in  the  State  near  the  eastern  border,  who  were  known 
by  the  name  of  '  jay -hawkers,'  every  one  a  hot  partisan  of  Lane,  and 
who  would  resent  an  affront  to  him  quicker  than  a  disloyal  act  to  the 
Government.  These  men,  of  course,  were  intensely  loyal ;  but  if  the 
Rebel  side  had  been  on  top,  they  (or  the  most  of  them)  would  have 
been  just  as  intensely  the  other  way.  They  were  active,  able-bodied, 
fine-looking  men,  as  a  rule,  just  such  as  would  have  been  of  valuable 
service  in  the  army ;  but  they  were  not  in  the  army,  but  devoting  them- 
selves to  pillage  and  robbing.  They  first  despoiled  men  of  known  dis- 
loyal sentiments  on  the  Missouri  side  of  the  river.  When  that  field  was 
worked  out,  they  paid  their  respects  to  men  on  this  side  who  were 
known  to  be  sympathizers  with  the  South.  When  that  harvest  was  ex- 
hausted, they  began  to  make  disloyal  men — that  is,  they  would  trump 
up  chargea  of  disloyalty  against  citizens,  and  proceed  to  steal  their 
horses.  Men  who  would  not  worship  Lane,  or  men  against  whom  local 
jay  hawkers  had  a  grudge,  were  spotted  as  disloyal,  and  their  horses 
were  stolen.  Many  of  the  best  citizens  were  opposed  to  this  business 
from  the  start ;  but  when  it  got  down  to  this  indiscriminate  robbery  of 
peaceable,  loyal  citizens  by  a  gang  of  desperadoes  who  should  have  been 
in  the  army,  they  org.ini/ed  against  them,  and  soon  their  graves  began 
to  dot  the  prairies  of  Kansas.  Several  of  them  were  killed  in  Troy ; 
one  of  the  leaders  at  Geary  City ;  and  Cleveland,  the  chief  of  all,  down 


SOL.    MILLER JAMES    CHRISTIAN.  451 

on  the  border  below  Kansas  City.     The  survivors  were  finally  driven 
into  the  army. 

"  The  foregoing  state  of  affairs  existed  in  the  year  1862.  In  the  Re- 
publican State  Convention  of  that  year  commissions  were  almost  openly 
auctioned  off  to  influence  delegates.  Lane  had  got  the  right  to  appoint 
the  officers  of  three  regiments  then  being  organized,  and  he  used  them 
to  run  the  State  Convention.  We  saw  one  man  in  the  Convention,  the 
most  blatant  Lane  man,  who  less  than  two  years  before  had  had  his 
head  broken  in  attempting  to  drive  Republicans  from  the  polls,  and 
who,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  called  a  meeting  in  this  county  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  action  looking  to  uniting  Kansas  with  the  South- 
ern Confederacy.  He  had  a  quartermaster's  commission  in  his  pocket. 
Another  noisy  delegate  had  a  similar  commission.  One  of  the  Doniphan 
County  delegates,  upon  reaching  Atchison,  was  feeling  unwell.  A 
physician  in  the  party  told  him  he  was  taking  typhoid  fever,  and  ought 
to  get  home  as  soon  as  possible.  Thus  frightened,  he  gave  his  proxy 
to  the  doctor,  who  did  Lane's  work  in  the  Convention,  and  came  out 
with  a  lieutenant-colonel's  commission.  One  prominent  anti-Lane  man, 
who  suddenly  flopped  before  the  Convention  assembled,  got  a  revenue 
appointment.  It  seemed  as  if  fully  one-half  of  the  delegates  in  the 
Convention  went  away  with  commissions  in  their  pockets.  A  most  ex- 
cellent ticket  was  nominated,  but  it  was  by  such  scandalous  means.  It 
was  intended  that  they  should  be  tools  of  Lane ;  but  they  disappointed 
his  expectations,  and  made  good  officers.  But  this  was  not  the  object 
in  their  nomination,  and  was  not  foreseen  at  the  time.  The  means  em- 
ployed to  nominate  them  was  what  hurt,  and  it  caused  a  big  kick." 

Captain  James  Christian,  Lane's  law  partner,  a  man  uni- 
versally esteemed,  has  this  to  say ; 


"ARKANSAS  CITY,  KANSAS,  January  21, 
Governor  Charles  Robinson,  Lawrence,  Kansas  : 
"  DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  read  with  much  interest  your  paper  read  before 
the  Loyal  Legion  at  Leavenworth,  January  3,  1889,  and  from  my  stand- 
point— and  few  men  in  Kansas  had  a  better  opportunity  of  knowing 
the  true  inwardness  and  the  facts  as  they  occurred  during  that  period  of 
Kansas  history,  as  I  was  intimately  acquainted  with  all  the  leading 
characters  that  figured  in  that  period  of  Kansas  and  Missouri  history, 
including  yourself — I  must  confess  that  you  under  rather  than  overstate 
the  character  of  that  terrible  period.  Hell  in  its  fury  could  not  match 
the  malignity  and  depravity  of  the  acts  that  were  committed  on  the  bor- 
der of  Kansas  and  Missouri  during  1861,  1862  and  1863.  I  have  a 
personal  knowledge  of  some  of  the  facts  you  mention,  and  know  them  to 
be  strictly  true,  and  from  the  source  of  knowledge  I  had  at  that  time  I 


452  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

have  no  doubt  of  some  of  the  facts  that  you  state  of  a  personal  character 
being  also  true.  I  was  stationed  on  the  border  at  Paola  some  seven 
months  as  quartermaster,  ordnance  officer,  and  commissioner  of  sub- 
sistence,  U.  S.  A.,  as  brigade  officer  of  the  Twelfth  Kansas,  Colonel 
Charles  W.  Adams,  and  the  First  Colored,  Colonel  J.  M.  Williams, 
from  the  fall  of  1862  to  June,  1863.  When  I  was  first  appointed  I  was 
ordered  to  report  to  General  James  H.  Lane.  This  brought  me  in  con- 
flict with  Major  Easton  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  who  would  not  recognize 
General  Lane  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States  army,  and  refused  to 
supply  me  with  quartermaster  stores.  But  when  seeing  my  appoint- 
ment from  the  War  Department,  he  relented  and  filled  my  requisition. 
From  that  on  I  had  no  trouble.  *  *  * 

"  In  his  brigadier-generalship  he  was  notoriously  aided  by  Stanton, 
Secretary  of  War,  and  poor  President  Lincoln  was  but  a  man,  subject 
to  like  passions  as  the  rest  of  us,  subject  to  flattery  and  coercion.  I 
was  in  Washington  when  Fred.  P.  Stanton  appeared  as  senator  in  Lane's 
place,  and  there  was  terrible  squirming  and  consulting  at  headquarters 
to  smother  the  papers  and  expunge  from  the  records  certain  papers  and 
documents — but  it  was  all  fixed  up  by  the  whole-souled  Christian  states- 
man Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.  But  the  fact  was,  Governor, 
men  of  your  way  of  thinking  at  that  time  were  in  a  hopeless  minority. 
Patriotism  was  not  near  so  great  an  object  as  plunder  and  popularity. 
It  was  too  much  a  political  war — at  least  in  Kansas.  *  *  * 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  JAMES  CHRISTIAN." 

The  following,  believed  to  be  written  by  one  of  the  best 
and  most  useful  men  Kansas  ever  had,  who  was  promoted 
to  a  general  in  the  army,  is  quoted,  as  it  gives  a  correct 
picture  of  the  times : 

"  BARNUM'S  HOTEL,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI,  August  30,  1862. 
"Editor  Missouri  A'epnblifan  : 

"  I  noticed  in  your  paper  three  or  four  days  ago,  yonr  Memphis  cor- 
•  respondent  quotes  a  letter  from  John  Lockhart,  Captain,  etc.,  wherein 
John  complains  that  '  General  Curtis's  army  does  not  forage  off  the 
enemy,  are  guarding  Rebel  property,  etc.,'  and  speaks  of  the  infamous 
conduct  of  General  Curtis  and  other  generals,  and  says  soldiers  might 
to  desert  unless  his  views  are  adopted.  John  is  a  Kansas  man,  and 
evidently  don't  like  the  way  this  war  is  being  carried  on.  Some  others 
of  us  don't  like  it  either,  but  for  quite  different  reasons  from  his.  John 
was  not  with  Curtis's  army  in  its  march  through  Arkansas,  was  not 
with  it  when  it  arrived  at  Helena;  hence  was  ton  late  t<>  get  his  share 
and  evidently  feels  mad  about  it,  and  must  vent  his  spite  on  somebody. 


GENERAL    DE1TZLKR.  453 

Now,  John,  hold  on  a  minute.  You  say,  '  On  every  road  leading 
from  Helena,  for  ten  miles,  soldiers  are  at  every  house  guarding  Rebel 
property.'  How  indignant  the  whole  country  must  feel  on  reading 
that. 

' '  Xow  hear  me.  I  was  with  Curtis  on  his  march  through  Arkansas, 
was  with  the  army  when  it  arrived  at  Helena;  and  I  now  tell  John 
Lockhart  and  the  country  that  on  the  Arkansas  side  of  the  river,  out- 
side of  Helena,  there  is  not  a  house  for  ten  miles  from  Helena  but  what 
has  been  pillaged  from  cellar  to  garret  by  our  troops.  Trunks  broken 
open,  bureaus  opened  and  sacked — in  fact,  every  drawer,  cupboard, 
trunk,  chest,  sacked  and  pillaged  ;  ladies'  dresses,  earrings,  finger  rings, 
breast-pins,  in  fact  everything  movable  possessing  value  stolen.  That 
is  not  all.  On  the  road  travelled  by  the  army  the  same  system  of  pillage 
has  been  carried  on.  If  a  dollar's  worth  of  movable  property  has  been 
left,  it  was  because  the  soldier's  knapsack  would  hold  no  more,  or 
wagons  could  not  be  pressed  to  haul  it.  If  guards  are  now  placed  at 
the  houses,  it  is  a  laudable  effort  to  try  to  repair  the  outrages  of  the 
past,  or  perchance  to  protect  the  '  colored  ladies  '  from  exhibitions  of 
love  manifested  by  some  of  the  followers  of  Jim  Lane,  in  imitation  of 
the  chivalry  of  the  South. 

' '  John  is  opposed  to  guarding  Rebel  property,  and  would  forage  off 
the  enemy.  So  am  I,  for  any  love  I. have  for  the  enemy.  I  believe  in 
so  subsisting  our  army  off  of  the  enemy  whenever  it  is  possible ;  that 
their  property  should  be  taken  by  quartermasters,  accounted  for,  and 
that  much  saved  to  the  Government.  But  this  is  not  what  some  mean 
by  their  great  cry  about  '  guarding  Rebel  property '  and  living  off  the 
enemy.  They  favor  a  promiscuous  and  indiscriminate  system  of  steal- 
ing and  plunder,  where  the  best  fellow  gets  the  most,  and  which  would 
never  benefit  the  Government  a  dollar.  I  undertake  to  say  it  is  the 
duty  of  a  general  to  take  care  of  his  army,  and,  if  necessary,  to  put  out 
guards  to  keep  soldiers  from  pilfering  or  plundering.  He  should  do 
so,  and  stop  it  at  once,  and  at  all  hazards.  Unless  this  is  done,  the 
army  is  demoralized,  and  becomes  worthless  for  fighting.  I  have  heard 
it  said  at  Helena  that  Curtis  has  regiments  that  could  steal  Vicksburg, 
or  even  Richmond,  in  a  week,  without  a  fight.  John  is  a  Kansas  man, 
a  disciple  of  Jim  Lane,  and,  I  suppose,  would  carry  the  war  on  on 
Lane's  principles,  or  rather,  Lane's  want  of  principle.  We  all  recollect 
Lane's  marches  in  Missouri  last  year,  when  he  was  playing  brigadier- 
general,  and  was  so  patriotic  that  he  charged  the  Government  '  nary  a 
cent '  for  it.  We  know  that  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  cattle,  horses, 
and  mules  were  driven  off,  but  no  one  will  pretend  to  say  that  one  dol- 
lar went  to  Government.  The  Osceola  bank  lost  $8000 ;  scores  of 
ladies  lost  silk  dresses  :  Lane  sent  his  wile,  just  afterwards,  $1000  in 
gold,  a  lot  of  silk  dresses,  and  other  women  fixings,  with  a  letter  cau- 


454  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

tioning  her  to  he  careful  about  using  the  money  and  articles,  and  not 
attract  too  much  notice ;  afterwards  returned  to  Leavenworth,  paid  his 
debts,  walked  the  streets  with  his  hands  full  of  gold,  but  Government 
did  not  get  a  dollar.  How  is  it  in  Kansas  now?  You  pay  six  cents 
per  pound  net  for  all  the  beef  used  in  the  Department,  yet  whoever 
heard  of  a  Missouri  or  a  Cherokee  farmer  getting  pay  for  his  cattle? 
A  citizen  of  Kansas,  slightly  intoxicated,  got  into  my  room  at  midnight 
a  few  nights  since,  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  and  was  boasting  of  clear- 
ing sixteen  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  on  beef  that  day.  *  *  * 

"  Lane's  brigade,  organized  last  year  by  authority  of  the  Presi- 
dent, without  commissions  from  the  Governor,  became  an  irresponsible,  . 
unorganized  mob,  until  the  Governor  reorganized  them  and  brought 
system  out  of  chaos.  Six  hundred  thousand  troops  are  again  called  for, 
yet  the  State  of  Kansas  has  not  been  called  upon  for  a  man.  The  Gov- 
ernor, whose  loyalty  no  one  will  dispute,  has  offered  time  after  time,  in 
his  official  capacity,  to  raise  troops,  yet  his  letters  are  unanswered. 

"  But  this  same  Jim  Lane  is  commissioned  to  go  to  Kansas  and  take 
the  exclusive  charge  of  recruiting  in  that  State.  The  people  of  Kansas 
are  heartily  sick  of  this.  They  have  a  State  Government  as  loyal  as 
any  in  the  Union,  and  why  it  should  be  ignored  by  the  President  and 
Secretary  of  War  is  more  than  they  can  comprehend.  But  more  anon. 

"  TRUTH  TELLER." 

The  Kansas  City  Star  gives  this  version  : 

"THE    REVOLT   AGAINST   LANE    IN  1862. 

"  What  engendered  the  antagonism  in  the  Republican  party  of  Kan- 
sas? 

"  Mr.  Willis  J.  Abbott,  author  of  the  '  Blue-jacket'  books,  is  pre- 
paring '  The  Story  of  Kansas '  for  Lothrop's  '  Stories  of  the  States ' 
series.  A  Star  reporter  asked  him  this  morning  the  cause  of  the  Re- 
publican revolt  against  Senator  Lane  in  1862,  which  brought  Mr.  In- 
galls  and  others  under  the  lash  of  the  regular  Republican  newspapers. 

"  '  Briefly  stated,'  said  Mr.  Abbott,  '  Senator  Lane's  quarrel  with  the 
authorities  of  Kansas  was  based  upon  his  pretensions  to  the  military 
control  of  the  State.  Robinson  and  Carney,  who  filled  the  gubernato- 
rial chair  of  the  State  during  the  Civil  War  period,  bitterly  con  tested 
these  pretensions,  but  Lane's  influence  with  Lincoln  and  Stanton  en- 
abled him  to  maintain  his  supremacy  until  1864,  when  Governor  Carney 
went  to  Washington,  and  by  personal  interviews  with  the  President  and 
the  Secretary  of  War  secured  fnr  himself  the  recognition  that  was  given 
the  Governor  of  every  other  State.  At  the  opening  of  the  war  the  State 
authorities  raised  volunteer  troops  in  the  usual  manner,  and  after  this 
work  was  done  Lane  appeared,  clothed  with  vague  military  powers,  and 


W.    J.    ABBOTT "  RECORD."  455 

taking  command  of  the  State  forces  began  making  predatory  raids  into 
Missouri.  His  course  was  deprecated  by  the  Kansas  authorities  as  well 
as  by  the  officers  of  the  regular  army,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  stirring 
up  useless  strife.  While  there  was  some  secession  sentiment  in  Mis- 
souri, there  had  been  no  evert  acts  of  war,  and  it  seems  probable  that 
much  of  the  border  warfare  was  due  wholly  to  Lane's  ill-advised  zeal. 
When  fully  in  control  of  the  military  forces  of  Kansas,  Lane  persuaded 
the  War  Department  to  authorize  a  military  invasion  of  the  southwest, 
representing  that  General  Hunter  joined  with  him  in  advising  it. 
Hunter  afterwards  wrote  the  military  authorities,  disclaiming  any  knowl- 
edge of  Lane's  scheme,  and  refused  to  co-operate  with  him,  thus  break- 
ing up  the  project. 

"  '  In  1862  Lane  was  appointed  "  commissioner  for  recruiting  in  the 
department  of  Kansas."  He  organized  regiments  and  distributed  mili- 
tary offices,  .but  was  checkmated  by  the  refusal  of  Governor  Robinson 
to  issue  the  commissions.  The  first  regiment  of  colored  troops  was 
formed  by  Lane. 

'  '  In  1864  Lane's  pretensions  became  so  unbearable  to  the  Kansas 
authorities  that  Carney  went  to  Washington  to  protest.  After  an  inter- 
view with  Lincoln  he  went  to  Secretary  Stanton,  bearing  a  letter  from 
the  President  suggesting  that  the  Governor  of  Kansas  should  be  treated 
like  other  governors.  Stanton  tore  the  letter  up,  saying  angrily : 

"  '  "  Tell  the  President  that  I  am  Secretary  of  War." 
'  '  Carney  turned  away,  but  before  he  left  the  building  the  Secretary 
sent  after  him,  and  a  long  interview  ended  in  the  extinction  of  Lane's 
extraordinary  powers. 

"  '  Lane's  suicide  was*  in  no  way  due  to  his  political  quarrels.  He 
had  become  reconciled  to  Carney,  and  his  public  position  seemed  secure, 
when  certain  dishonorable  proceedings  on  his  part  in  connection  with 
Indian  traders  became  known.  After  failing  to  exculpate  himself,  and 
trying  in  vain  to  secure  a  foreign  appointment  from  the  President,  he 
put  a  pistol  in  his  mouth,  and  discharged  it.  Though  the  wound  would 
have  killed  an  ordinary  man  immediately,  he  lived  ten  days,  dying  July 
10,  1866.'" 

A  recent  number  of  the  Westport  Record  has  this : 

"  Governor  Charles  Robinson,  the  '  War  Governor'  of  Kansas,  has 
set  the  Kansas  press  on  fire  by  speaking  out  on  James  H.  Lane's 
methods  during  the  war.  We  are  glad  there  is  one  man  in  Kansas  who 
dares  to  speak  the  truth  in  vindication  of  history.  The  Kansas- Mis- 
souri border  war  was  a  disgrace  even  to  barbarism.  Westport  was  a 
central  point  thereof.  We  have  no  excuses  to  offer,  therefore,  but  re- 
taliation. Could  Governor  Robinson  have  controlled  his  Kansas  cut- 
throats and  robbers,  his  policy  would  have  saved  bloodshed  and  fire  at 


456  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

least.  Missouri  law  turned  over  to  Kansas  authorities  the  first  company 
of  thieving  excursionists,  with  their  plunder,  that  visited  Kansas.  An 
unwritten  treaty  existed  between  the  State  Government  of  Kansas  ;.nd 
western  Missouri  counties  early  in  the  \var,  which  both  sides  endeavored 
to  sustain.  Lane,  Jennison,  and  their  cut-throat  followers,  unrestricted 
by  patriotism,  friends,  or  law,  by  murder,  rapine,  and  plunder  aroused 
the  western  counties  and  drew  over  the  line  the  worst  and  most  lawless 
elements  of  our  citizenship.  Quantrell  and  his  bloodthirsty  gang  went 
to  Lawrence  after  Lane  in  vengeance  for  burning  Sibley,  plundered 
Westport,  and  pillaged  Jackson,  Clay,  Cass,  and  Bates  counties.  Bad 
feeling  is  now  over,  and  we  only  hail  Governor  Robinson's  letter  with 
joy  as  being  vindicatory  of  history  and  as  being  from  the  man  whose 
policy  so  thoroughly  foiled  all  our  well-laid  plans  for  making  Kansas  a 
pro-slavery  State." 

Professor  L.  W.  Spring,  a  writer  on  Kansas  who  dared  to 
tell  the  truth  as  he  found  it,  has  this  to  say,  beginning  on 
page  273  of  his  "  Kansas  "  : 

"  Lane's  singular  influence  over  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Secretary  of 
War,  Mr.  Stanton,  is  one  of  the  most  inexplicable  and  disastrous  facts 
that  concerned  Kansas  in  1861—65.  It  was  the  source  of  the  heaviest 
calamities  that  visited  the' commonwealth  during  that  period,  because  it 
put  him  in  a  position  to  gratify  mischievous  ambitions,  to  pursue  per- 
sonal feuds,  to  assume  duties  that  belonged  to  others,  to  popularize  the 
corruptest  political  methods,  and  to  organize  semi-predatory  military 
expeditions.  His  conduct  not  only  embarrassed  the  State  executive  and 
threw  State  affairs  into  confusion,  but  provoked  sanguinary  reprisals 
from  Missouri.  In  1864  Mr.  Lincoln,  remarking  upon  Lane's  extraor- 
dinary career  in  Washington  to  Governor  Carney,  offered  no  better  ex- 
planation of  it  than  this :  '  He  knocks  at  my  door  every  morning. 
You  know  he  is  a  very  persistent  fellow,  and  hard  to  put  off.  I  don't 
see  you  very  often,  and  have  to  pay  attention  to  him.' 

"  Lane's  intrigues  in  Washington  against  the  State  administration 
prospered.  Though  recruiting  was  energetically  pushed  by  the  local 
authorities,  and  three  regiments  were  already  in  the  field — the  first  and 
second  obtaining  honorable  recognition  for  gallant  conduct  at  the  battle 
of  Wilson's  Creek,  Missouri — yet  in  August,  Lane,  technically  a  civil- 
ian, appeared  in  Kansas  clothed  with  vague  but  usurping  military 
powers.  He  reached  Leavenworth  on  the  i5th,  and  announced  in  a 
•public  address  the  extinction  of  all  his  personal  and  political  enmities — 
a  costly  sacrifice  laid  on  the  altar  of  his  country.  Two  days  atter- 
wards  he  set  out  for  Fort  Scott,  where  the  Kansas  IJrigado,  comprising 


PROFESSOR    SPRING.  457 

the  Third  and  Fourth  Infantry  together  with  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Cav- 
alry regiments,  was  concentrating  to  repel  attacks  upon  the  southeast. 
He  began  his  brief  military  career  in  this  region  by  constructing  several 
useless  fortifications,  among  which  the  most  considerable  affair  was 
Fort  Lincoln,  on  the  Little  Osage  River,  twelve  miles  north  of  Fort 
Scott.  September  2d  there  was  a  skirmish  at  Dry  Wood  Creek,  Mis- 
souri, between  a  reconnoitering  party  and  a  force  under  the  Confed- 
erate General  Rains,  which  was  not  wholly  favorable  to  the  Kansans, 
and  caused  a  panic  at  Fort  Scott.  Leaving  a  body  of  cavalry  with 
orders  to  defend  the  town  as  long  as  possible,  and  then  fire  it,  Lane 
retired  to  his  earthworks  on  the  Little  Osage.  '  I  am  compelled  to  make 
a  stand  here,'  he  reported  September  2d,  after  getting  inside  Fort 
Lincoln,  '  or  give  up  Kansas  to  disgrace  and  destruction.  If  you  do 
not  hear  from  me  again,  you  can  understand  that  I  am  surrounded  by  a 
superior  force.'  The  Confederates  did  not  follow  up  their  advantage, 
but  retreated  leisurely  towards  Independence,  Missouri.  Encouraged 
by  their  withdrawal,  Lane  took  the  field  on  the  loth  'with  a  smart  little 
army  of  about  fifteen  hundred  men,' reached  Westport,  Missouri,  four 
days  later,  where  he  reported,  '  Yesterday  I  cleaned  out  Butler  and  Park- 
ville  with  my  cavalry.'  September  22d  he  sacked  and  burned  Osceola, 
Missouri — an  enterprise  in  which  large  amounts  of  property  and  a  score 
of  inhabitants  were  sacrificed.  He  broke  camp  on  the  27th,  and  in  two 
days  reached  Kansas  City.  The  brigade  converted  the  Missouri  border 
through  which  the  march  lay  into  a  wilderness,  and  reached  its  destina- 
tion heavily  encumbered  with  plunder.  "'Everything  disloyal,'  said 
Lane,  '  *  *  *  must  be  cleaned  out ;  '  and  never  were  orders  more  lit- 
erally or  cheerfully  obeyed.  Even  the  chaplain  succumbed  to  the  ram- 
pant spirit  of  thievery,  and  plundered  Confederate  altars  in  the  interest 
of  his  unfinished  church  at  home.  Among  the  spoils  that  fell  to  Lane 
personally  there  was  a  fine  carriage,  which  he  brought  to  Lawrence  for 
the  use  of  his  household." 

But  enough  of  such  wholesale  crimes  to  gratify  the  crav- 
ings of  a  bloodthirsty  maniac  clothed  with  authority  from 
Washington.  Various  reasons  have  been  given  for  his  final 
taking  off,  but  it  was  a  clear  case  of  simple  retribution  for 
crimes  that  no  human  tribunal  was  adequate  to  punish. 
Retribution  came  in  a  most  simple  and  natural  way,  as  it 
always  does  under  the  immutable  law  of  action  and  reaction. 
This  man  not  only  despoiled  the  inhabitants  of  Missouri  and 
Kansas,  but  he  joined  a  partnership  concerned  with  Indian 
and  army  contracts.  Not  content  with  that,  he  is  said  to 


THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

have  formed  a  partnership  with  President  Johnson  to  defeat 
a  Republican  measure  in  the  Senate,  the  Civil-tenure-of-office 
Bill,  in  consideration  of  having  a  relative  appointed  Collector 
of  New  York.  As  he  failed,  however,  to  defeat  the  bill,  he 
failed  of  the  reward  for  his  treachery  to  his  party,  but  he 
secured  the  ill-will  and  contempt  of  his  colleagues  in  the 
Senate.  This  opened  the  way  for  the  exposure  of  his  In- 
dian partnership,  which,  if  proven,  would  expel  him  from 
his  senatorial  seat.  The  man  who  possessed  the  proof  of  the 
partnership  had  been  prepared  for  his  part  in  the  drama  by 
Lane  when  first  elected  senator.  This  man's  name  was  G. 
W.  Deitzier,  Colonel  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Kansas  Vol- 
unteers, who  by  gallant  conduct  at  Wilson's  Creek  and  else- 
where had  earned  and  received  the  appointment  of  brigadier- 
general.  Before  senators  had  been  elected  in  1861  in 
Kansas,  Deitzier  was  appointed  Indian  agent,  but  his  ap- 
pointment had  not  been  acted  upon  by  the  Senate  when 
Lane  took  his  seat  in  that  body.  Lane  at  once  opposed 
Deitzler's  confirmation,  charging  some  improper  conduct  on 
his  part,  and  his  name  was  withdrawn  by  the  President. 
Deitzier  became  permanently  disabled  from  service  in  the 
army  by  sickness,  and  resigned  as  brigadiervgeneral.  He 
afterwards  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  which  Lane  was 
private  partner.  By  this  means  he  acquired  the  information 
that  would  have  been  fatal  to  Lane  had  it  been  given  to  the 
Senate.  Some  of  Lane's  former  friends  who  became  ene- 
mies because  of  his  course  on  the  Civil-tenure  Bill,  or  for 
some  other  reason,  started  the  ball  by  damaging  correspond- 
ence to  leading  newspapers.  Lane  referred  to  this  in  his 
place  in  the  Senate,  promising  to  give  the  reports  due  atten- 
tion at  another  time.  He  started  at  once  for  Kansas  to 
shut  the  mouth  of  Deitzier,  but  this  was  impossible.  All 
manner  of  appliances  were  used  without  avail.  General 
Deitzier  refers  to  the  efforts  of  Lane's  friends  in  a  letter  to 
Robinson  dated  San  Francisco,  California,  November  16, 
1879,  as  follows : 


CAUSE    OF    LANE'S    SUICIDE.  459 

"  If  it  will  answer  your  purpose,  I  will  give  you  the  solid  facts  re- 
specting the  Fuller  and  McDonald  Indian  and  Army  contracts,  and 
Lane's  interest  therein,  and  his  disgraceful  conduct  when  he  was  ex- 
posed, and  finally,  of  his  death  when  he  discovered  that  I  could  not  be 
moved  by  blandishment  nor  threats  to  give  up  the  testimony  which  a 
kind  Providence  had  placed  in  my  hands,  and  which,  if  submitted  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  would  certainly  have  resulted  in  his  expulsion 
from  that  body,  which  facts  you  might  place  in  the  hands  of  General  J. 
L.  McDowell,  to  be  incorporated  in  the  letters  which  he  proposes  to 
write  on  such  subjects.  *  *  *  If  the  facts  which  I  have  proposed  to 
furnish  for  General  McDowell  should  be  called  in  question  by  the  cham- 
pions of  Lane,  I  would  be  willing  to  swear  to  them  and  to  produce  such 
further  evidence  as  would  convince  all  of  their  truth.  *  *  * 
"  Truly  your  friend, 

"  GEORGE  W.  DEITZLER." 

On  January  31,  1884,  Deitzler  wrote  from  Oro  Blanco, 
Arizona  Territory,  in  part  as  follows : 

"  Now  the  cause  which  led  to  the  grim  chieftain's  flirtation  with  his 
little  pistol  would  form  an  interesting  chapter  in  his  infamous  career, 
and  I  am  perhaps  better  posted  on  that  subject  than  any  other  person ; 
and  while  the  task  is  very  distasteful  to  me,  I  am  almost  persuaded  to 
regard  it  as  a  duty,  and  furnish  the  groundwork  for  you  to  dress  it  up 
when  you  shall  have  reached  that  point  in  your  recollections  of  those 
times.  I  will  do  it,  upon  the  following  conditions  :  First,  it  must  not 
go  in  as  coming  from  me,  and  secondly,  before  it  goes  in  you  must  get 
General  McDowell's  endorsement  so  far  as  he  is  cognizant  of  the  facts 
in  the  case.  General  McDowell  was  postmaster  at  Leavenworth  at  the 
time,  by  the  grace  of  Lane,  and  he  came  to  my  house  and  labored  with 
me  several  days  to  let  the  old  man  down  easily,  as  others  had  done. 
McDowell  was  my  friend,  and  at  heart  despised  Lane  as  much  as  I  did ; 
but  he  really  worked  hard  to  induce  me  to  let  up  and  to  surrender  certain 
official  and  partnership  documents  in  my  possession,  which  documents, 
supplemented  by  testimony,  would  have  hoisted  the  old  sinner  disgrace- 
fully from  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate.  General  McDowell's 
conduct  was  gentlemanly  and  proper  in  every  sense,  and  he  offered  me 
no  bribe,  as  Fuller,  Dewolf,  and  others  did.  All  he  said  was  that  Lane 
would  secure  me  any  appointment  I  might  desire,  while  his  more  inti- 
mate friends  and  strikers  offered  appointments,  money,  land,  etc.,  and 
finally  threats.  But  Lane  had  not  been  good  to  me,  and  besides,  I 
knew  him  to  be  a  very  bad  man,  and  so  on  general  principles  I  felt  it 
my  duty  to  do  what  I  could  to  deprive  him  of  his  power.  When  he 


460  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

found  that  '  blandishments  would  not  fascinate  me  nor  threats  of  the 
halter  intimidate  me,'  his  courage  failed  him.      You  know  the  rest." 

Before  General  Deitzler  had  time  to  write  out  his  facts  he 
was  accidentally  killed,  and  they  may  never  be  given  to  the 
public. 

Senator  Lane,  failing  to  get  what  he  wanted  from  General 
Deitzler,  started  for  Washington,  but  on  reaching  St.  Louis, 
and  hearing  of  new  scandals  at  Washington,  he  concluded 
to  return  to  Kansas,  and  soon  after  put  a  pistol  in  his  mouth 
and  sent  a  ball  through  his  brain.  Thus  ended  the  career 
of  a  man  without  principles  or  convictions  of  any  kind,  who 
was  comparatively  weak  and  harmless  when  alone,  but  with 
the  support  of  the  Administration  at  Washington,  with  un- 
limited patronage  and  irresponsible  power,  was  an  instrument 
of  untold  evil. 

At  the  time  of  the  Wakarusa  war,  in  the  fall  of  1855, 
Thomas  Barber  was  wantonly  murdered  by  the  Governor's 
militia,  and  at  his  funeral  this  language  was  used :  "  Was 
Thomas  Barber  murdered?  Then  are  the  men  who  killed 
him,  and  the  officials  by  whose  authority  they  acted,  his  mur- 
derers. And  if  the  laws  are  to  be  enforced,  then  will  the 
Indian  agent,  the  Governor,  and  the  President  be  convicted 
of  and  punished  for  murder."  Was  this  position  right  in 
that  case  ?  If  so,  here  is  another  case,  which  was  multiplied 
probably  by  hundreds,  if  not  by  thousands.  At  a  meeting  at 
Leavenworth,  Lane  is  reported  in  Lippincott's  Magazine  as 
saying:  "When  I  was  marching  through  there  [Missouri] 
the  other  day,  I  happened  to  inquire  for  the  best  Union 
man  in  the  county.  They  told  me  Hook,  and  I  went  out 
of  my  way  to  visit  him.  I  asked  him  in  the  presence  of  my 
men  if  he  was  for  the  Union.  He  said,  '  Yes,  for  the  Union 
as  it  was.'  I  then  inquired  if  he  harbored  Rebels  in  his 
house.  He  answered,  '  No,  but  he  had  heard  them  at  his 
corn-crib  sometimes  at  night.'  I  turned  and  rode  away." 
A  voice  in  the  crowd  :  "  Where's  Hook  now  ?  "  "  In  - 
I  left  him  in  the  hands  of  the  executioner." 


RESPONSIBILITY    FOR    MURDERS.  461 

Was  this  murder?  If  so,  then  are  those  who  killed  the 
man  "  and  those  by  whose  authority  they  acted  his  murder- 
ers," not  excepting  the  men  who  gave  Lane  his  roving  com- 
mission. It  is  claimed  that  such  conduct  was  in  retaliation 
for  the  Quantrell  raid,  but  unfortunately  the  Quantrell  raid 
was  itself  a  retaliation  for  similar  raids  into  Missouri  pre- 
viously made  by  Lane. 

Of  this  supplementary  raid  this  writer  in  Lippincott  truly 
says:  "The  victims  of  his  [QuantrelPs]  massacre  have  been 
counted,  but  those  whom  Lane  and  Jennison  left  in  the 
hands  of  their  executioners,  who  will  chronicle  them  ?  They 
are  unnumbered  as  the  murders  of  Attila." 

Several  lessons  may  be  learned  from  the  conflict  in  Kan- 
sas, and  the  conduct  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  in  the  West, 
that  may  be  of  service  to  the  oppressed,  to  philanthropists 
and  statesmen. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  remedy  for  oppression  in  a  Re- 
publican government  is  not  the  overthrow  of  that  govern- 
ment, but  resistance  of  oppression  within  it.  If  a  people 
with  votes  in  their  hands,  with  power  to  replace  every  offi- 
cial, from  President  to  constable,  cannot  exercise  that  power 
for  their  relief  from  oppression,  a  forcible  overthrow  of  the 
government  would  leave  them  at  the  mercy  of  designing 
men  who  would  as  readily  control  the  new  government  as 
the  one  destroyed.  A  Republican  government  is  what  the 
people  make  it,  and  if  not  what  it  should  be,  they  only  are 
to  blame.  The  safety  of  such  a  government  depends  upon 
the  education  of  the  voters ;  and  the  remedy  for  injustice  in 
any  direction  is  exposure  of  the  wrong  and  agitation  for  the 
right.  Defensive  opposition  to  wrong  and  oppression  with 
prudence  will  succeed,  while  offensive  opposition  to  the 
government  itself  will  fail.  Amos  A.  Lawrence  once  said, 
"  The  Government  may  have  many  faults,  but  let  it  be  as- 
sailed from  any  quarter  and  the  whole  people  will  rally  for 
its  defense."  In  resisting  oppression  no  wrong  or  outrage 
must  be  committed  by  the  oppressed.  They  depend  for 


462  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

relief  upon  the  sympathy  or  sense  of  justice  of  the  people 
not  directly  interested  ;  and  so  long  as  oppression  only  is 
resisted,  this  sympathy  will  be  with  the  oppressed,  but  so 
soon  as  the  oppressed  or  wronged  turn  oppressors  and  wrong 
innocent  parties,  all  sympathy  ceases.  The  Free-State  party 
of  Kansas  retained  the  sympathy  of  the  North  because  it  did 
nothing  that  could  be  called  wrong  in  itself  to  any  man,  but 
acted  strictly  on  the  defensive.  And  when  Brown's  massa- 
cre occurred,  Redpath,  knowing  the  effect  of  wrong-doing 
upon  the  country  at  large,  painted  the  men  killed  in  the 
blackest  colors  imaginable,  making  their  taking  off  an  act  of 
self-defense  on  the  part  of  the  Free-State  men.  Had  the 
facts  been  generally  known  at  that  time  as  they  are  known 
now,  that  these  men  killed  were  no  more  guilty  of  crime  than 
were  the  men  killed  by  Hamilton  at  the  Marais  des  Cygnes, 
a  terrible  revulsion  would  have  occurred  throughout  the  land. 
But  the  Slave-State  men  knew  the  facts,  and  the  retaliation 
commenced  immediately  and  lasted  all  summer.  As  fast  as 
Free-State  men  learned  the  facts  and  became  undeceived, 
apologies  gave  way  to  censure.  So  in  the  war  of  the  rebel- 
lion :  had  Lane  and  his  red-legs,  regular  or  irregular,  con- 
fined their  operations  to  hostile  armies  protecting  non-com- 
batants of  all  parties  from  molestation,  comparative  peace 
would  have  reigned  on  the  borders  of  the  two  States,  Missouri 
and  Kansas,  and  all  parties  would  have  remained  at  home 
except  such  as  chose  to  enlist  in  the  regular  sendee  ;  but  the 
system  of  brigandage  adopted  by  Lane  and  his  partisans 
drove  nearly  the  entire  State  of  Missouri  into  rebellion,  and 
all  able-bodied  men  into  the  rebel  army,  besides  causing 
retaliatory  raids  upon  Kansas  like  that  of  Quantrell  upon 
Lawrence  in  1863. 

Here  was  a  most  lamentable  example  of  the  abuse  of 
Federal  patronage.  The  President,  that  he  might  insure  his 
re-election,  or  for  other  cause,  placed  the  army  at  the  dis- 
posal of  a  man  so  constituted  that  a  little  power  over  the 
lives  of  other  men  would  intoxicate  him,  and  permitted  him 


1.E.SSONS    TAUGHT.  463 

to  devastate,  plunder,  and  kill  at  pleasure,  restrained  by  no 
authority,  human  or  divine. 

But  the  lesson  will  not  be  forgotten  by  the  ambitious. 
One  of  these  men,  not  receiving  the  punishment  due  for  his 
crimes  in  Kansas,  sought  to  inaugurate  a  servile  war,  the 
most  revolting  of  all  wars,  and  suffered  the  penalty  prescribed 
by  law.  Another  was  overtaken  in  his  crimes,  and  executed 
himself  ;  while  the  third,  although  glorified  for  his  proclama- 
tion freeing  the  slaves  of  the  South,  has  the  luster  of  his 
fame  and  name  terribly  tarnished  by  his  conduct  of  the  war 
in  the  West,  if  not  in  the  East. 


[NOTE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. — When  Governor  Rob- 
inson refused  commissions  to  the  men  designated  by 
Senator  Lane  for  positions  in  the  volunteer  regiments, 
Secretary  Stanton  telegraphed  to  the  Governor  as  fol- 
lows: "If  you  do  not  issue  the  commissions,  the  War 
Department  will." 

To  which  Governor  Robinson  replied:  "You  have 
the  power  to  override  the  constitution  and  the  laws, 
but  you  have  not  the  power  to  make  the  present 
Governor  of  Kansas  dishonor  his  State." 

This  prompt  and  emphatic  reply  practically  settled 
the  controversy,  and  there  was  no  further  interference 
with  the  Governor's  prerogatives.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE     GROWTH     OF     KANSAS. HER     INSTITUTIONS. TEMPER- 
ANCE.  PROHIBITION. IMPORTANCE       OF       THE         KANSAS 

CONFHCT. 

THE  close  of  the  war  found  Kansas  with  a  population  but 
little  in  excess  of  the  population  when  admitted  into  the 
Union.  In  1861  her  population  was  107,206,  while  in  1865 
it  was  140,179,  the  increase  being  chiefly  after  the  close  of 
the  war  in  1864. 

After  1865  the  prosperity  of  Kansas  was  unparalleled  in 
population,  wealth,  production,  internal  improvements,  edu- 
cational facilities,  charitable  institutions,  and  religion. 

The  national  census  of  1890  shows  a  population  for  Kan- 
sas of  1,423,000;  while  the  school  population  between  the 
ages  of  five  and  twenty  years,  1888,  was  532,010.  The  to- 
tal population  for  that  year,  1888,  estimated  by  Governor 
Martin,  was  1,651,000. 

The  assessed  valuation  of  all  property  in  Kansas  in  1 860 
was  $22,518,232  ;  while  in  1888  it  was  $353,248,332.  The 
number  of  school-houses  in  the  State  in  1888  was  8196, 
valued  at  $8,608,202  ;  while  the  receipts  from  taxation  and 
other  sources  for  school  purposes  were  $5,333,200. 

Of  the  higher  educational  institutions,  Governor  John  A. 
Martin,  in  his  message,  January,  1889,  thus  speaks: 

"  The  State  University  now  comprises  six  departments — Science, 
Literature  and  Arts,  Law,  Music,  Pharmacy,  Art  and  Medicine.  The 
Preparatory  Department  has  been  recently  discontinued,  as  the  Normal 
Department  was  a  few  years  ago,  and  advanced  tests  for  admission  have 
been  established,  so  that  the  institution  may  be  devoted  to  legitimate 
university  work,  leaving  secondary  education  with  the  high-schools  and 


EDUCATIONAL    SUSTITUTIOXS.  465 

academies  of  the  State.  These  changes  have  largely  reduced  the  num- 
ber of  students  qualified  for  admission,  but  notwithstanding  this  fact 
the  number  in  attendance  shows  a  steady  and  gratifying  increase.  On 
the  ist  of  January,  1885,  the  students  enrolled  numbered  four  hundred 
and  nineteen ;  and  twenty-four  professors,  assistants,  and  instructors 
were  employed.  On  the  ist  of  January  last  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  students  were  enrolled,  and  the  corps  of  professors,  assistants,  and 
instructors  numbered  thirty.  *  *  * 

"  The  State  Agricultural  College  has  at  present  three  hundred  and 
fifty-nine  students  enrolled,  an  increase  of  twenty-one  since  the  close  of 
the  fall  term  of  1884.  Its  instructors  in  all  departments  number  twenty- 
five,  an  increase  of  four  during  the  past  four  years.  The  improvements 
in  buildings  and  fixtures  since  January  i,  1885,  have  aggregated  in 
value  $27,000,  and  the  increase  in  the  value  of  the  farm,  furniture, 
stock,  and  apparatus  is  over  $70,0x20. 

"  The  State  Normal  School  has  four  hundred  and  forty  students  en- 
rolled on  the  1st  of  January,  1885,  and  six  hundred  and  sixty  are  now 
enrolled.  Fourteen  instructors  are  now  employed,  an  increase  of  three 
in  four  years.  The  expenditures  during  that  period  include  $26,200  for 
buildings,  $4800  for  museum  and  apparatus,  and  $5000  for  furniture 
and  miscellaneous  improvements. 

' '  The  buildings  of  all  these  institutions  are  commodious,  handsome, 
substantially  built,  and  admirably  adapted  for  their  purposes  ;  and  it  can 
be  fairly  said  that  the  reputation  of  the  University,  the  College,  and 
the  Normal  School,  for  thorough  and  exact  work  in  their  several  de- 
partments, has  more  than  kept  pace  with  their  improved  facilities  and 
attendance." 

The  subject  of  a  college  or  university  was  considered 
early  in  the  territorial  period.  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  after 
whom  the  town  of  Lawrence  was  named,  gave  to  S.  C- 
Pomeroy  and  C.  Robinson  as  trustees  two  notes',  of  $5000 
each,  with  accruing  interest,  to  endow  a  college  or  university 
at  Lawrence  in  1855.  This  endowment,  amounting  in  1863 
to  over  $14,000,  secured  the  location  of  the  State  University 
at  that  town. 

The  charitable  institutions  are  on  a  most  liberal  scale. 

The  insane  asylums  in  1888  accommodated  over  sixteen 
hundred  patients ;  the  Institution  for  the  Blind  had  eighty- 
six  pupils ;  for  Deaf  and  Dumb,  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  pupils;  State  Reform  School,  two  hundred  and  eight 

30 


466  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

pupils ;  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home,  one  hundred  and  nine 
children  ;  Asylum  for  Idiotic  and  Imbecile  Youth,  one  hun- 
dred children.  The  churches  of  the  various  denominations 
were  early  in  the  field,  Rev.  S.  Y.  Lum,  Congregationalist, 
and  Rev.  T.  Ferrill,  Methodist,  arriving  in  Kansas  in  1854, 
and  Rev.  E.  Nute,  Unitarian,  in  1855.  But  as  population 
increased  denominations  multiplied,  furnishing  every  town 
and  hamlet  with  as  many  religious  societies  as  the  people 
were  able  to  support. 

Internal  improvements,  especially  transportation,  have 
kept  pace  with  the  population.  As  Kansas  is  essentially  an 
agricultural  State,  adapted  to  wheat,  corn,  and  stock-raising, 
railroads  were  a  necessity  and,  although  expensive,  no  local- 
ity would  part  with  them  for  twice  their  cost  to  the  people. 
No  new  State  has  been  so  favored  in  this  respect,  the  track 
laid  reaching  nearly  nine  thousand  miles.  While  all  power 
is  apt  to  be  arbitrary  and  oppressive,  the  vast  corporations 
controlling  the  transportation  lines  in  Kansas  have  been  as 
reasonable  in  their  charges  and  mindful  of  the  interests  of 
their  patrons,  the  people,  as  could  be  hoped  for  under  the 
circumstances.  While  some  roads  more  than  pay  expenses, 
as  through  lines,  their  branches  and  feeders  which  accommo- 
date sparsely  settled  communities  fall  behind.  As  business 
increases  it  can  be  done  at  lower  rates,  and  with  an  ever- 
watchful  Legislature  justice  will  doubtless  be  done  to  all 
parties  interested. 

While  some  of  the  most  reckless,  unscrupulous,  and  aban- 
doned men  have  found  their  way  to  Kansas,  as  a  whole  no 
State  can  show  a  better  class  of  citizens.  Nearly  all  the 
active  Free-State  men  were  strictly  temperate  in  their  habits, 
many  of  them  never  using  intoxicants  as  a  beverage.  The 
Territorial  Legislature  passed  stringent  local  option  laws, 
and  they  were  well  enforced.  The  State  Legislatures  also 
have  always  kept  abreast  of  the  temperance  movement  in 
the  country,  and  no  State  could  show  as  few  drinking-places 
in  proportion  to  the  population  as  Kansas.  In  1880  there 


TEMPERANCE PROHIBITION.  467 

were  less  than  a  dozen  towns  in  the  State  that  did  not  have 
local  option  prohibition,  and  even  where  license  prevailed 
the  restrictions  in  most  places  were  enforced  and  drunken- 
riess  was  rarely  seen  upon  the  streets.  So  strong  was  the 
feeling  against  the  liquor  traffic  that  at  that  date  an  amend- 
ment to  the  constitution  was  adopted  forbidding  the  sale  of 
intoxicants  for  all  purposes  except  medical,  mechanical,  and 
scientific.  Should  the  amendment  and  laws  passed  under  it 
be  strictly  enforced,  no  intoxicants  could  be  procured  for 
purposes  of  drink  by  purchase  or  manufacture  within  the 
State.  The  purpose  of  the  amendment  is  thus  set  forth  by 
the  attorney-general  in  his  report  for  the  years  1889—1890. 

"  The  prohibitory  law  of  Kansas  forbids  the  manufacture  and  sale 
of  intoxicating  liquor,  except  for  medical,  scientific,  and  mechanical 
purposes.  Thus  far  in  Kansas  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  regulate 
by  legislation  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors.  Every  person  who  can 
lawfully  acquire  and  come  into  possession  of  any  intoxicating  liquor  has 
been  at  perfect  liberty  to  use  the  same  in  any  manner  he  sees  fit,  and 
for  any  purpose,  excepting  that  of  sale  to  others.  The  only  object  of 
forbidding  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  except  for 
medical,  scientific,  and  mechanical  uses,  must  necessarily  have  been  to 
diminish  the  use  of  said  liquors  except  for  such  purposes.  The  object 
sought  was  the  prevention  of  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  bever- 
age. The  method  employed  was  the  indirect  one  of  forbidding  the 
manufacture  or  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  except  for  these  purposes. 
In  order  to  justify  the  prohibitory  law,  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  use 
of  intoxicating  liquors  for  other  than  the  excepted  purposes  is  dangerous 
to  the  community,  and  is  wrong  to  the  people  of  the  State.  The  ad- 
mitted evils  of  intemperance  are  occasioned  by  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors  as  a  beverage. 

"If  it  be  true  that  a  State  by  prohibiting  the  manufacture  and  sale 
of  intoxicating  liquors  for  other  than  the  excepted  purposes  intends 
thereby  to  diminish  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  except  for  those  pur- 
poses, why  may  not  the  State,  as  a  police  regulation  in  aid  of  accom- 
plishing what  the  law  seeks  to  accomplish,  regulate  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquor  as  well  as  its  sale?  " 

According  to  this  statement,  the  purpose  is  to  deprive  the 
citizen  of  the  power  of  choice,  or  free  agency,  in  regard  to 
personal  habits  such  as  drinking,  and  place  him  under  the 


468  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

guardianship  of  the  Legislature.  One  class  of  citizens  takes 
this  view  of  the  prerogative  of  the  Legislature  and  laws, 
while  another  class  believes  that  the  citizen  should  be  left  a 
free  moral  agent  in  personal  matters  such  as  eating,  drinking, 
and  believing.  What  will  be  the  final  result  is  unknown. 
Good  men  differ  as  widely  upon  this  question  as  th-ey  did 
upon  the  questions  of  policy  to  be  adopted  in  making  a  free 
State  of  Kansas.  The  advocates  of  the  different  methods, 
local  option  and  constitutional  prohibition,  are  very  positive 
they  are  right,  and  each  school  is  thoroughly  armed  and 
equipped  with  opinions,  arguments,  and  facts  to  establish  the 
views  they  hold. 

A  few  samples  follow.  Governor  John  A.  Martin,  one  of 
the  best  and  most  honored  citizens  Kansas  ever  had,  in  his 
retiring  message  to  the  Legislature,  January.  1889,  said: 

"  There  is  no  longer  any  issue  or  controversy  in  Kansas  concerning 
the  results  and  benefits  of  our  temperance  laws.  Except  in  a  few  of  the 
larger  cities,  all  hostility  to  them  has  disappeared.  For  six  years,  at 
four  exciting  general  elections,  the  questions  involved  in  the  abolition 
of  the  saloon  were  disturbing  and  prominent  issues,  but  at  the  election 
held  November  last  this  subject  was  rarely  mentioned  by  partisan  speak- 
ers or  newspapers.  Public  opinion,  it  is  plainly  apparent,  has  under- 
gone a  marked  change,  and  there  are  now  very  few  citizens  of  Kansas 
who  would  be  willing  to  return  to  the  old  order  of  things. 

"  The  change  of  sentiment  on  this  question  is  well  grounded  and 
natural.  No  observing  and  intelligent  citizen  has  failed  to  note  the 
beneficent  results  already  attained.  Fully  nine-tenths  of  the  drinking 
and  drunkenness  prevalent  in  Kansas  eight  years  ago  have  been  abol- 
ished ;  and  I  affirm,  with  earnestness  and  emphasis,  that  this  State  is 
to-day  the  most  temperate,  orderly,  sober  community  of  people  in  the 
civilized  world.  The  abolition  of  the  saloon  has  not  only  promoted  the 
personal  happiness  and  general  prosperity  of  our  citizens,  but  it  has 
enormously  diminished  crime ;  has  filled  thousands  of  homes  where  vice 
and  want  and  wretchedness  once  prevailed  with  peace,  plenty,  and  con- 
tentment ;  and  has  materially  increased  the  trade  and  business  of  those 
engaged  in  the  sale  of  useful  and  wholesome  articles  of  merchandise. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  population  of  the  State  is  steadily  in- 
creasing, the  number  of  criminals  confined  in  our  penitentiary  is  steadily 
decreasing.  Many  of  our  jails  are  empty,  and  all  show  a  marked  falling 
off  in  the  number  of  prisoners  confined.  The  dockets  of  our  courts  are 


MARTIN HUMPHREY KELLOGG.  469 

no  longer  burdened  with  long  lists  of  criminal  cases.  In  the  capital 
district,  containing  a  population  of  nearly  sixty  thousand,  not  a  single 
criminal  case  was  on  the  docket  when  the  present  term  began.  The 
business  of  the  police  courts  of  our  larger  cities  has  dwindled  to  one- 
fourth  of  its  former  proportions,  while  in  cities  of  the  second  and  third 
class  the  occupation  of  police  authorities  is  practically  gone.  These 
suggestive  and  convincing  facts  appeal  alike  to  the  reason  and  the  con- 
science of  the  people.  They  have  reconciled  those  who  doubted  the 
success  and  silenced  those  who  opposed  the  policy  of  prohibiting  the 
liquor  traffic. 

"  The  laws  now  on  our  statute  books  touching  this  question  need 
lew  if  any  amendments.  Fairly  and  honestly  enforced,  they  make  it 
practically  impossible  for  any  person  to  sell  intoxicating  liquors  as  a 
beverage  in  any  Kansas  town  or  city.  What  is  needed,  therefore,  is 
not  more  rigorous  laws,  but  a  systematic  and  sincere  enforcement  of  the 
laws  we  have." 

The  incoming  Governor,  Hon.  L.  U.  Humphrey,  on  the 
same  occasion  delivered  his  message,  and  said,  on  page  28 
of  same  volume,  as  follows : 

"  The  growth  of  public  sentiment  in  support  of  constitutional  prohibi- 
tion in  Kansas  is  steady,  healthy,  and  unmistakable.  In  the  last  cam- 
paign no  political  party  had  the  temerity  to  demand  a  resubmission  of 
the  question  to  the  people,  in  the  face  of  a  popular  verdict  that  has  been 
repeated  and  emphasized  every  time  the  popular  senSe  has  been  taken. 
As  an  issue  in  Kansas  politics,  resubmission  is  as  dead  as  slavery.  The 
saloon  as  a  factor  in  politics,  as  a  moral  iniquity,  has  been  outlawed  and 
made  a  '  fugitive  and  a  vagabond  on  the  face  of  the  earth,'  or  that  part 
of  it  within  the  territorial  limits  of  Kansas." 

The  attorney-general  reports  the  same  year  as  follows : 

"  The  administration  of  the  law  is  growing  more  popular.  The 
masses  demand  it,  and  scheming  individuals  are  slow  to  oppose  the  will 
of  the  masses.  Where  there  is  a  popular  uprising  against  what  the 
people  have  declared  to  be  a  common  nuisance,  dangerous  to  society, 
morals,  and  health,  and  conducive  to  crime  and  pauperism,  the  end  is 
certain.  The  fight  for  supremacy  has  been  tedious.  The  lawless  ele- 
ments of  society  are  always  arrayed  against  the  law.  Dens  of  infamy 
and  hotbeds  of  crime  are  always  found  clustered  around  the  saloon.  Re- 
move the  saloon,  and  the  threshold  of  the  penitentiary  is  farther  away 
from  the  rising  generation.  The  saloon  has  been  banished  from  Kansas 
soil,  and  already  the  result  can  be  appreciated." 


470  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

Ex-Senator  Ingalls  claims  that  the  saloon-keeper  and 
drunkard  have  joined  the  Troubadours  and  the  Mound 
Builders,  there  being  neither  found  in  Kansas. 

So  much  for  one  side.  A  word  from  the  other.  A  com- 
mittee of  the  lower  house  of  the  Legislature,  appointed  to 
investigate  the  workings  of  the  metropolitan  police,  reported 
to  the  late  session,  1891,  in  part  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Benning,  a  member  of  the  board  of  police  commissioners  of 
the  city  of  Atchison,  testified  that  tippling-shops,  gambling-dens,  and 
the  keepers  of  houses  of  prostitution  were  regularly  fined.  His  testi- 
mony was  confirmed  by  a  number  of  respectable  citizens  and  the  records 
of  the  board.  Evidence  explanatory  was  given  by  Republicans,  pro- 
hibitionists, and  Democrats.  They  all  expressed  their  belief  that  the 
prohibitory  law  could  not  be  enforced  in  Atchison,  and  that  it  was  in 
the  interest  of  society  and  the  treasury  of  the  city  to  have  the  laws  exe- 
cuted to  regulate  and  not  to  suppress  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
A  joint-keeper  testified  that  he  and  others  were  ordered  by  the  police  to 
close  their  doors  during  the  visit  of  the  Legislative  committee. 

"  Major  B.  P.  Waggener's  letter: 

"  'ATCHISON,  KANSAS,  February  19,  1890. 
"  'Hon.  Lyman  U.  Hitmphrev,  Governor  of  Kansas,  Topeka,  Kansas  • 

"  '  MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  yth,  in  which 
you  advised  me  that  you  have  had  a  conference  with  Mr.  C.  W.  Ben- 
ning, who  stated  that  the  board  of  police  commissioners  of  Atchison 
were  desirous  that  I  should  formulate  and  present  to  them  any  charges 
that  I  might  desire  to  make  touching  the  official  conduct  of  the  marshal 
or  chief  of  police,  and  to  submit  the  same  with  whatever  testimony  I 
desired  in  support  thereof,  and  that  the  same  should  have  prompt,  fair, 
and  vigorous  attention  on  their  part. 

'  '  I  beg  to  advise  you  that  on  the  i6th  day  of  December,  1889,  I  ad- 
dressed a  communication  to  the  Hon.  \V.  L.  Johnson,  secretary  of  the 
board  of  police  commissioners,  a  copy  of  which  I  herewith  enclose,  and 
up  to  the  present  time  the  receipt  thereof  has  not  been  acknowledged, 
or  any  notice  whatever  taken  of  it.  I  am  therefore  fully  satisfied  that 
any  complaint  that  I  might  make  to  the  board  of  police  commissioners 
of  this  city  would  be  treated  in  the  same  manner. 

'  '  During  the  month  of  December,  1889,  I  addressed  you  a  letter, 
accompanied  with  affidavits  which  clearly  established  the  following  facts, 
namely : 

14  i.  That  since  the  appointment  of  the  board  of  police  commission- 


LEGISLATIVE    COMMITTEE.  471 

ers  in  1889,  there  has  been  in  operation  in  this  city  an  average  of  about 
forty  '  joints,'  or  places  where  intoxicating  liquors  were  sold  in  violation 
of  the  law. 

"  '  2.  That  during  all  of  that  time  the  present  chief  of  police  had  sys- 
tematically collected  money  from  the  proprietors  of  these  '  joints  '  as  a 
license  for  the  privilege  of  selling  liquors  in  violation  of  law,  and  to  se- 
cure immunity  from  arrest. 

"  '  3.  That  a  large  amount  of  money  was  collected  by  the  chief  of 
police  without  any  arrests  having  been  made,  and  which  was  paid  for 
the  express  purpose,  by  parties  who  were  selling  liquors  in  violation  of 
the  law,  to  avoid  arrest.  *  *  * ' 

"  John  L.  Stewart,  of  Fort  Scott,  testifies  that  the  metropolitan  police 
force  is  detrimental  to  any  city  where  they  exist ;  that  prohibition  was 
not  now  nor  never  had  been  enforced  since  the  appointment  of  said 
board ;  that  there  was  a  scare  over  the  appointment  of  your  committee, 
but  he  positively  knew  of  three  saloons,  running  wide  open,  selling  in- 
toxicants over  the  counter,  and  that  there  were  probably  fifty  joints  in 
the  city,  and  numerous  poker-rooms. 

"  W.  A.  Simpson,  president  of  the  metropolitan  police  board  of  Kan- 
sas City,  Kansas,  presented  a  statement  showing  the  aggregate  collec- 
tions from  April  I,  1889,  to  April  I,  1890,  to  have  been  $32,625.47,  and 
from  April  I,  1890,  to  January  i,  1891,  from  all  sources,  $26,925.20. 
When  asked  to  explain  the  large  increase  over  former  years,  he  testified 
that  it  was  partly  owing  to  the  increase  in  population  and  more  com- 
plete set  of  ordinances  and  their  more  general  application.  There  were 
also  exhibited  papers,  certified  to  by  the  clerk  of  Kansas  City  as  being 
a  partial  copy  of  the  records  of  the  police  judge,  which  showed  that  the 
revenue  from  tippling-shops  from  April  I,  1890,  to  February  I,  1891, 
inclusive,  had  been  from  $1750  to  $4500  per  month,  and  gambling 
from  $277  to  $1158  per  month,  aggregating  in  ten  months  $28,977. 
He  testified  that  there  were  a  few  places  where  intoxicating  liquors  had 
been  sold  by  the  same  person  for  the  past  four  years,  and  that  the  only 
convictions  that  had  been  made  were  by  the  sheriff  of  the  county  in  the 
district  court. 

' '  Your  committee  believe  there  is  collected  under  the  ordinance  fifty 
dollars  as  a  cash  forfeiture  in  most  cases,  and  that  there  is  no  further 
punishment. 

"  The  Leaven  worth  board  is  at  present  composed  of  three  aged  men ; 
the  president,  William  Fairchild,  is  over  eighty  years  old.  They  were 
said  to  have  been  selected  because  of  their  recognized  belief  in  prohibi- 
tion and  prohibitory  laws.  Prior  to  this  appointment,  there  have  been 
changes  made  in  the  board  a  number  of  times.  The  president's  testi- 
mony, which  was  confirmed  by  the  secretary  of  the  board,  was  to  the 
effect  that  they  had  tried  to  enforce  the  law  and  ordinance  governing 


472  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

the  city,  but  had  failed  to  suppress  the  '  joints,'  and  were  not  now  try- 
ing to  abolish  houses  of  prostitution ;  that  there  was  little  gambling 
known  to  them  or  the  force  in  said  city.  They  testified  further  that 
there  were  many  places  where  intoxicants  were  sold,  and  that  they  were 
now  permitting  forfeitures  of  cash  bonds  in  the  interests  of  a  depleted 
treasury.  They  stated  their  belief  that  corrupt  methods  had  been  re- 
sorted to  by  certain  ones  of  their  employees,  who  collected  money  from 
jointists,  and  did  not  turn  the  same  into  the  public  treasury.  *  *  * 

"  City  Attorney  S.  B.  Isenhart,  being  sworn,  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
that  the  metropolitan  system  had  not  been  a  success  in  the  city  of  To- 
peka,  and  not  independent  of  politics,  as  supposed  they  would  be.  They 
do  not  feel  under  obligations  to  take  advice  of  the  city  authorities,  as 
they  owe  allegiance  only  to  the  Governor.  They  do  not  care  to  econ- 
omize when  there  is  no  money  to  pay,  and  operate  in  opposition  to  the 
city  government.  They  are  inefficient  in  sanitary  work  and  the  collec- 
tion of  licenses  imposed  by  the  ordinances,  which  result  in  a  loss  to  the 
city  of  $5000  per  annum,  not  considering  the  increased  expense  of  the 
system  to  the  city.  I  think  the  system  is  against  the  best  interests  of 
the  community.  I  have  not  been  in  any  joints  myself,  but  I  am  just  as 
well  satisfied  that  we  have  an  unlimited  number  of  them,  and  I  think 
there  is  just  as  much  drunkenness  here  now  as  there  was  under  the  old 
system.  I  am  satisfied  that  the  records  of  the  district  court  show  an 
increase  of  crime.  At  one  time,  about  two  years  ago,  there  was  an 
agitation  about  a  decrease  of  crime  by  certain  parties  who  seemed  to 
want  it  to  appear  that  way,  and  it  is  a  fact  that,  in  some  mysterious 
way,  one  term  of  court  there  were  no  criminal  cases  on  the  docket ;  and 
I  know  that  the  same  belief  is  entertained  by  other  attorneys,  for  the 
next  term  of  court  was  largely  taken  up  in  trying  these  criminal  cases ; 
and  when  it  used  to  take,  some  years  ago,  two  weeks  to  finish  the 
criminal  docket,  it  now  takes  one  month  to  a  month  and  a  half  to  dis- 
pose of  the  docket  each  term  of  court. 

"  E.  T.  Allen,  who  was  chairman  of  the  police  commission  of 
Wichita  from  July  24,  1889,  until  January  6,  1891,  having  been  duly 
sworn,  said  that  the  only  time  he  had  ever  known  the  saloons  to  be 
closed  in  that  city  was  when  he  had  been  given  authority  of  the  board, 
and  had  signed  an  order  and  given  it  to  the  marshal.  He  thought  that 
condition  continued  about  two  weeks,  when  the  board  was  changed,  by 
the  removal  of  the  two  men  who  had  voted  to  close  them.  *  *  * 

"  The  saloons  are  now  open,  and  I  believe  with  a  cognizance  of  the 
officials  of  the  city.  In  fact,  they  are  running  every  day,  and  money 
put  up  for  bonds  of  fifty  dollars  each,  which  are  forfeited,  and  the  joint- 
ists submitted  to  no  other  punishment. 

"  Your  committee  requested  one  of  their  own  members  (Mr.  Kenton) 
to  go  to  Wichita  and  investigate  tntf  condition  of  the  police  government, 


COMMITTEE CONTINUED.  473 

•who  visited  numerous  saloons  having  regular  bars  in  the  rear  of  the 
buildings,  or  upstairs,  as  a  general  rule ;  that  in  some  of  them  there 
were  a  great  number  of  boys  from  sixteen  to  twenty  years  of  age.  He 
visited  one  gambling-house  that  contained  various  gambling  devices  and 
a  bar  from  which  drinks  were  served,  and  which  was  thronged  with  men 
engaged  in  gambling. 

"  The  mayor  exhibited  a  report  that  showed  that  fines  had  been  col- 
lected from  some  time  in  the  autumn  to  the  present,  aggregating  over 
$10,000. 

''  Your  committee  have  heard  no  testimony  that  induces  them  to  be- 
lieve that  the  prohibitory  law  has  been  enforced  in  any  city  of  the  State 
through  the  agency  of  the  metropolitan  police  or  any  other  machinery 
of  the  law.  In  all  of  the  six  cities,  fines,  or  forfeited  recognizances 
called  fines,  are  imposed.  There  is  usually  no  further  punishment  in- 
flicted. The  statute,  which  imposes  a  fine  of  one  hundred  dollars  and 
imprisonment  for  the  offense  of  selling  intoxicating  liquors,  is  abrogated 
by  ordinances  that  impose  fifty  or  a  hundred  dollars  only,  without  im- 
prisonment, by  recognizance  being  forfeited  ;  the  offense  itself  is  thereby 
compromised  in  a  manner  which,  if  done  by  any  other  official  action, 
would  be  a  barbarous  crime.  The  more  vigorous  the  effort  made  to 
enforce  prohibition  in  the  cities,  the  more  irresponsible  and  debased  are 
the  men  who  are  engaged  in  the  traffic,  the  more  deceptive  their  devices 
and  secluded  their  places  of  business. 

"  The  authorities  of  Topeka  have  made  a  more  determined  effort  to 
enforce  prohibitory  laws  than  any  city  of  its  class,  as  has  been  already 
shown.  They  are  expending  $15,000  per  annum  of  the  tax-payers' 
money  in  excess  of  all  the  revenue  of  the  police  department  of  the  city, 
and  yet  the  joints,  drunkenness,  and  crime  have  not  been  banished.  In 
the  other  five  cities  the  system  has  been  merely  self-sustaining ;  but  it 
is  clearly  made  so  through  the  encouragement  it  gives  to  crimes  and  mis- 
demeanors ;  through  fines  imposed,  which  are  given  the  semi-recogni- 
tion of  a  license,  and  when  the  fines  are  not  collected  for  the  public 
treasury  the  temptation  to  bribe  the  police  is  increased,  and  the  illegiti- 
mate joint  remains  through  that  influence. 

"  The  system  is  so  absolutely  divorced  from  all  responsibilities  to 
the  people  that  the  officers  exercise  an  independence  in  the  interest  of 
crime  by  not  informing  themselves  of  the  character  of  the  city  ordi- 
nances, and  when  they  do,  neglect  or  refuse  to  enforce  them.  Your 
committee  conclude  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  establish  dual  governments  in 
small  cities,  but  as  the  Senate  has  refused  to  repeal  the  law  authorizing 
the  appointment  of  commissioners,  we  can  only  condemn  the  general 
administration  of  the  metropolitan  police  law  of  the  State,  and  petition 
the  Governor.  Your  committee  therefore  recommends  that  the  governor 
be  memorialized,  in  the  exercise  of  the  discretion  placed  in  him  which  is 


474  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

by  the  statutes,  to  withdraw  the  application  of  the  metropolitan  police 
law  from  the  cities  of  Kansas  and  leave  those  cities  to  the  enforcement 
of  their  own  police  regulations. 

"  All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

"  LEVI  DUMBAULD, 
"  S.  F.  NEELEY, 

"  B.   F.   FORTNEY, 

"  W.  M.  KENTON, 
"  E.  D.  YORK." 

This  legislative  committee  was  composed  of  members  of 
all  political  parties,  and  the  report  was  unanimous. 

The  editor  of  the  Lawrence  Record,  an  ardent  prohibition- 
ist, has  an  editorial,  July  7,  1891,  as  follows: 

"  PUT    UP   OR    SHUT   UP. 

"  Let  us  understand  this  matter  fully.  If  the  Republican  party  of 
Kansas  is  unwilling  to  uphold  prohibition  longer,  let  the  statement 'be 
honestly  made  to  that  effect.  This  farce  is  played  out.  When  Leaven- 
worth  alone  sustains  one  hundred  and  seventy  joints,  when  Atchison  is 
full  of  liquor-houses,  while  Wichita  has  practically  never  closed  its 
saloons,  it  is  time  for  Prohibition  (?)  Kansas  to  take  down  the  sign. 
The  State  is  a  by-word  and  a  hissing  everywhere.  Countless  thousands 
paid  out  yearly  to  Missouri  and  other  States  for  liquor.  If  we  are  to 
have  unrestrained  sale  in  the  large  cities,  why  not  in  the  small  ones? 
If  we  must  have  beer  and  whiskey,  why  not  make  it  at  home,  and  save 
the  money  to  the  State,  thus  creating  a  home  market  also  for  the  grains 
to  be  brewed  and  distilled? 

"  This  is  the  devil's  own  logic.  But  it  will  be  the  rallying  cry  of 
the  thousands  of  Republicans  in  the  next  election,  unless  some  change 
is  made  in  the  present  situation.  We  said  some  time  ago  that  the  pur- 
pose was  rapidly  forming  to  abandon  prohibition  by  the  Republican 
leaders.  Every  day  makes  more  apparent  the  truthfulness  of  our  in- 
formation. We  repeat  the  statement  of  that  article,  that  prohibition  was 
never  in  greater  danger  than  now.  There  is  not  a  Republican  politician 
in  the  State  who  would  not  gladly  trade  all  his  stock  in  prohibition  for 
an  American-made  tin  pan.  Protection  to  Eastern  manufactories  granted 
galore  unasked,  but  protection  to  the  home  from  the  vile  saloon  is  to  be 
determined  by  its  effects  upon  voters.  And  the  purpose  is  resolved 
upon  by  these  pirati-s  who  have  scuttled  the  fair  ship  already,  to  abandon 
her  to  drift  as  a  derelict  over  the  political  sea. 

"  It  is  time  to  know  where  we  are  and  what  we  intend  to  do.  It  is 
time  for  prohibition  Republicans  to  decide  whether  they  endorse  the 


A    PROHIBITIONIST'S    TESTIMONY.  475 

damnable  policy  of  this  State  administration  in  maintaining  under  the 
eyes  of  its  special  officials  cities  full  of  saloons.  It  has  come  to  be  the 
case  that  municipalities  which  desire  to  obtain  money  from  the  sale  of 
liquors  ask  for  the  metropolitan  police  system,  sure  of  their  revenue  if 
they  obtain  it. 

' '  Away  witli  the  lying  story  that  Kansas  is  a  prohibition  State !  Let 
us  tell  the  truth !  The  only  party  which  advocated  it  is  about  to  abandon 
it,  and  the  organs  of  the  party  are  silent  witnesses  of  the  crime.  Unless 
public  opinion  is  soon  awake,  the  deed  of  treason  will  be  done,  and  the 
best  opportunities  for  a  generation  to  clear  Kansas  from  the  curse  of 
the  saloon  will  be  lost. 

"  There  is  more  liquor  sold  and  drunk  to-day  in  Kansas  than  at 
any  time  since  the  passage  of  the  amendment!  Deny  it,  whoever 
dare!" 

It  may  be  proper  to  state  that  the  Republican  party  was 
the  only  party  that  endorsed  prohibition  in  its  platform,  and 
although  having  at  the  previous  election  over  80,000  plural- 
ity, at  the  last  election  it  was  put  in  the  minority  of  40,000, 
while  the  prohibition  attorney-general  who  was  so  sanguine 
in  his  report  in  1888  was  defeated  by  a  Democrat  and  Peo- 
ple's-party  man  by  about  40,000  votes.  Here  is  a  statement 
giving  both  sides  of  prohibition,  and  the  reader  can  take  his 
choice. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  present  or  future  of  Kansas,  she 
has  done  a  work  for  the  cause  of  freedom  that  is  her  crown- 
ing glory.  She  had  an  opportunity  denied  every  other  Ter- 
ritory and  State,  and  well  did  she  iniprove  it.  The  results 
of  the  territorial  conflict  are  the  inheritance  of  the  State  and 
the  Union,  and  the  handful  of  pioneers  who  turned  back  the 
dark  waves  of  tyranny  from  Kansas  and  sent  back  slavery 
reeling  in  despair  "  to  die  amid  its  worshippers,"  can  well 
afford  to  rest  from  their  labors,  trusting  to  the  present  genera- 
tion to  see  that  no  harm  shall  come  to  the  heritage  pur- 
chased by  their  labor  and  sufferings. 

The  importance  of  these  labors  were  briefly  given  in  an 
address  at  the  Quarter  Centennial  of  Kansas,  by  the  writer, 
which  is  here  quoted  as  a  fitting  close  to  the  foregoing  rem- 
iniscences : 


476  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

"  J/r.  President  and  Fellmi'-Citizens  : 

"  We  have  assembled  to  celebrate  the  twenty-fifth  birthday  of  the 
State  of  Kansas.  On  such  an  occasion,  a  review  of  her  wonderful 
growth  and  achievements  is  eminently  proper,  and  in  these  no  State  can 
excel  our  own  ;  but  I  have  been  notified  that  I  am  expected  to  speak  of 
Kansas  in  her  antenatal  days,  and  relate  something  of  her  struggles  in 
embryo.  While  the  territorial  period  was  full  of  incident  and  worthy 
achievement,  the  field  has  been  so  often  plowed  and  cross-plowed,  har- 
rowed and  raked,  as  with  a  fine-tooth  comb,  for  items  to  add  to  the 
fame  or  infamy  of  the  contestants,  that  nothing  fresh  or  interesting  re- 
mains to  be  said  appropriate  to  the  occasion.  Some  of  the  results, 
however,  of  the  territorial  struggle  have  been  inherited  by  the  State, 
and  constitute  its  chief  glory.  Of  these  I  will  briefly  speak.  To  be- 
gin at  the  beginning,  I  will  say  that  the  difficulty  which  culminated  in 
Kansas  had  its  origin  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  According  to  report,  the 
first  law  ever  given  to  the  race  was  a  prohibitory  law,  with  death  as  the 
penalty  for  disobedience.  This  law,  of  course,  was  violated  by  the  oc- 
cupants of  the  Garden,  and  should  the  threatened  penalty  be  inflicted, 
the  Law-Giver  would  have  no  subjects,  as  the  violators  included  the 
whole  human  family.  Accordingly,  the  penalty  was  modified  to  suit  the 
emergency — a  precedent  still  followed  by  political  parties  when  the  en- 
forcement of  their  laws  will  leave  their  party  without  a  quorum  in  the 
Legislature,  or  in  a  minority  at  the  polls.  The  amended  penalty  reads 
as  follows  :  '  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  thy  bread  till  thou 
return  unto  the  ground.'  The  penalty  attached  not  only  to  the  law- 
breaker, but  to  all  his  posterity,  and  from  that  day  to  this  the  chief  con- 
cern of  mankind  has  been  to  escape  this  penalty.  Every  person  seems 
desirous  of  making  some  one  else  do  the  sweating  while  he  eats  his 
bread.  Every  device  has  been  resorted  to.  Sometimes  a  man  escapes 
the  penalty  by  withholding  the  earnings  of  his  employees,  in  whole  or 
in  part ;  but  a  favorite  method  has  been  to  capture,  steal,  or  purchase  a 
man,  and  to  compel  him  to  do  the  sweating  both  for  himself  and  his 
master.  This  practice  has  been  handed  down  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration, till  the  date  of  the  opening  of  Kansas  to  settlement,  and  it  was 
proposed  to  introduce  it  on  Kansas  soil.  Hence  the  conflict.  Many 
people  had  come  to  look  upon  this  business  not  only  as  avoiding  the 
penalty  for  eating  the  prohibited  fruit,  but  as  a  great  wrong  to  such  as 
were  compelled  to  suffer  the  double  infliction.  Some  thought  it  \va^  the 
'  sum  of  all  villainies,'  and  others  '  trembled  when  they  remembered 
that  God  was  just.'  Many  years  of  agitation  had  preceded  the 
ment  of  Kansas,  both  among  the  people  and  in  Congress.  Vari"ii- 
compromises  and  provisos  had  been  agreed  to,  but  all  sucli  \\ 
ropes  of  sand  before  the  demands  of  the  slave  power.  One  of  the>e 
barriers  to  the  extension  of  slavery  went  down  in  the  enactment  of  the 


IMPORTANCE  OF  CONFLICT.  477 

Kansas-Nebraska  bill.  The  opponents  to  the  extension  of  slavery  were 
beaten — hopelessly  beaten — in  Congress ;  the  agitators  of  the  North 
and  East  were  powerless,  and  could  anything  be  done  to  stay  the 
progress  of  this  institution?  A  writer  in  the  Charleston  (S.  C. )  Mer- 
cury states  the  case  as  follows : 

'  '  First,  by  consent  of  parties  the  present  contest  in  Kansas  is  made 
the  turning-point  in  the  destinies  of  slavery  and  abolitionism.  If  the 
South  triumphs,  abolitionism  will  be  defeated  and  shorn  of  its  power 
for  all  time.  If  she  is  defeated,  abolitionism  will  grow  more  insolent 
and  aggressive,  until  the  utter  ruin  of  the  South  is  consummated.  Sec- 
ond, if  the  South  secures  Kansas,  she  will  extend  slavery  into  all  ter- 
ritory south  of  the  fortieth  parallel  of  north  latitude  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  this,  of  course,  will  secure  for  her  pent-up  institution  of  slavery  an 
ample  outlet  and  restore  her  power  in  Congress.  If  the  North  secure 
Kansas,  the  power  of  the  South  in  Congress  will  gradually  be  dimin- 
ished ;  the  States  of  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and 
Texas,  together  with  the  adjacent  Territories,  will  gradually  become 
abolitionized,  and  the  slave  population,  confined  to  the  States  east  of 
the  Mississippi,  will  become  valueless.  All  depends  upon  the  action 
of  the  present  moment. ' 

' '  This  is  an  exact  statement  of  the  situation  as  it  then  appeared, 
and  the  prediction  only  failed  of  realization  in  consequence  of  the  sui- 
cide of  slavery  by  the  Rebellion,  which  could  not  then  be  known.  Here, 
then,  was  the  stake — not  the  extension  of  slavery  to  Kansas  merely, 
but  its  extension  indefinitely,  or  its  final  extinction.  Who  could  be 
found  to  enter  the  lists?  Slavery  had  all  the  advantages.  On  its  side 
were  billions  of  dollars  and  the  domestic  relations  of  eight  million  peo- 
ple involved.  Congress  was  in  favor  of  slavery  extension,  or  it  would 
not  have  removed  the  barriers  from  the  west  line  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri. The  Judiciary  was  on  the  side  of  slavery  extension,  or  it  would 
never  have  made  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  The  Executive  Department 
of  the  Government  favored  slavery  extension,  or  it  could  not  have  been 
elected,  and  would  not  have  had  Jefferson  Davis  for  Secretary  of  War. 
Besides,  Kansas  had  a  slave  State  extending  across  its  entire  eastern 
border,  whose  inhabitants  were  alive  to  the  situation,  bold,  reckless, 
and  defiant,  while  the  opponents  of  slavery  were  to  be  found  chiefly  at 
a  distance  of  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  field  of  conflict.  Congressmen 
from  the  North  had  been  beaten  and  cowed ;  the  old  Anti-Slavery  So- 
ciety had  no  faith  in  success,  or  in  the  value  of  victory  if  achieved,  and 
the  Liberty  and  Free-soil  parties  had  no  machinery  that  could  be  useful 
in  such  an  encounter.  Who,  under  these  disadvantages,  would  enter 
the  contest  for  this  prize  with  the  slave  power  of  the  nation  that  had 
never  known  defeat?  Individuals  and  individual  effort  could  do  some- 
thing, as  was  shown  in  the  person  of  him  who  will  speak  this  evening 


478  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

for  the  pioneers  of  Kansas.  But  the  whole  North  must  be  aroused  and 
organization  effected,  to  stimulate  and  aid  emigration.  A  theretofore 
comparatively  obscure  man,  a  member  of  a  State  Legislature,  was 
seized  with  inspiration,  and  he  stepped  forth  in  the  winter  of  1854, 
when  it  became  evident  that  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  would  become  a 
law,  and  organized  emigration  and  preached  the  crusade  till  victory  was 
secured.  So  obnoxious  did  this  man  become  to  the  slave  power  that  a 
price  was  set  upon  his  head,  dead  or  alive,  even  before  the  lands  of  Kan- 
sas were  open  to  settlement.  But  emigration,  while  indispensable,  was 
not  all  that  was  requisite.  A  State  had  to  be  organized,  and  this  work 
must  be  done  on  the  soil  of  Kansas.  This  was  the  work  in  hand,  and 
the  election  of  a  Territorial  Legislature  was  the  first  step  to  be  taken. 
The  party  that  should  secure  this  would  secure  a  great,  if  not  decisive, 
victory.  As  is  well  known,  this  victory  perched  upon  the  banners  of 
the  South.  Was  there,  then,  hope  left  for  a  free  State?  All  the  ma- 
chinery for  making  a  State  was  now  in  possession  of  the  enemy.  This 
was  in  1855,  and  there  would  be  no  new  Legislature  elected  before  1857. 
In  the  meantime  '  returning  boards  '  could  be  provided  and  a  constitu- 
tion inaugurated,  which  might  settle  the  question  in  issue  irrevocably. 
Could  any  power  or  any  agency  wrest  victory  from  such  a  defeat,  and 
under  such  circumstances?  Every  statesman,  every  politician,  every 
student  of  history,  and  every  person  of  ordinary  information  of  affairs 
of  government,  would  have  answered,  and  did  answer,  this  question  in 
the  negative,  but  the  Free-State  party  of  Kansas  answered  it  in  the 
affirmative,  and  made  good  their  answer,  as  history  has  recorded.  How 
this  victory  was  achieved — by  what  measures  or  policy — belongs  to  the 
history  of  the  territorial  period,  and  not  the  State ;  but  as  its  results 
must  have  been  inherited  by  the  State,  some  of  them  may  properly  be 
named  here. 

"  First.  The  victory  of  the  Free- State  party  made  Kansas  a  free  in- 
stead of  a  slave  State. 

"  Second.  According  to  the  Charleston  Mercury,  it  put  an  end  to 
the  extension  of  slavery  in  every  direction,  and  secured  freedom  to  all 
other  Territories. 

"  Third.  It  made  the  Republican  party  of  the  nation.  The  '  Cyclo- 
pedia of  Political  Science '  says  truly :  '  The  predominance  of  a  moral 
question  in  politics,  always  a  portentous  phenomenon  under  a  constitu- 
tional government,  was  made  unmistakable  by  the  Kansas  struggle,  and 
its  first  perceptible  result  was  the  disappearance,  in  effect,  of  all  the 
old  forms  of  opposition  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  the  first  national 
convention  of  the  new  Republican  party,  June  17,  1856.' 

"  Eli  Thayer  says  that  '  the'Kansas  fight  made  the  Republican  party.' 
Also  he  adds  that  it  was  '  a  necessary  training  of  the  Northern  States 
for  subduing  the  Rebellion.' 


RESULTS    OF    CONFLICT.  479 

"  Fourth.  This  being  conceded,  Kansas  made  the  election  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  possible. 

"  Fifth.  Securing  a  free  State  in  Kansas  and  the  election  of  Lincoln 
brought  on  the  Rebellion,  which — 

"  Sixth.  Was  the  suicide  and  the  end  of  slavery,  in  this  nation  and 
prospectively  in  all  nations. 

"  All  these  results  the  State  of  Kansas  inherits  from  the  territorial 
struggle,  as  can  be  abundantly  shown.  I  am  aware  that  an  attempt  has 
been  made  to  rob  Kansas  of  some  of  these  laurels,  but  the  attempt  will 
fail.  One  writer  would  make  it  appear  that  the  raid  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
to  which  he  was  a  party,  destroyed  slavery,  and  not  the  work  in  Kansas. 
What  are  the  facts  ?  Were  I  to  quote  all  the  declarations  of  Southern 
politicians  during  the  pending  of  the  elections  of  1856  and  1860,  saying 
that  should  the  Republican  candidate  for  President  be  elected  they  would 
go  out  of  the  Union,  my  time  and  your  patience  would  be  exhausted. 
I  will  therefore  refer  to  but  two  or  three  statements :  Jefferson  Davis, 
in  his  message  to  the  Confederate  Congress,  does  not  mention  Har- 
per's Ferry,  but  gave  this  as  a  reason  for  withdrawing  from  the  Union  : 

'  '  A  great  party  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Government,  with  the  avowed  object  of  using  its 
power  for  the  total  exclusion  of  the  slave  States  from  all  participation  in 
the  benefits  of  the  public  domain  acquired  by  all  the  States  in  common, 
whether  by  conquest  or  purchase,  surrounding  them  entirely  by  States 
in  which  slavery  should  be  prohibited,  thus  rendering  the  property  in 
slaves  so  insecure  as  to  be  comparatively  worthless,  and  thereby  annihi- 
lating, in  effect,  property  worth  thousands  of  millions  of  dollars.  This 
party,  thus  organized,  succeeded  in  the  month  of  November  last  in  the 
election  of  its  candidate  for  the  President  of  the  United  States.' 

"  I  will  next  quote  from  a  letter  attributed  to  Judah  P.  Benjamin, 
senator  from  Louisiana,  to  the  British  Consul  in  New  York,  dated  Au- 
gust II,  1860,  as  follows: 

"  '  The  doctrines  maintained  by  the  great  leaders  of  the  Republican 
party  are  so  unsuited  to  the  whole  South  that  the  election  of  their  can-/ 
didate  (which  is  almost  certain)  amounts  to  a  total  destruction  of  all 
plantation  interests,  which  the  South,  as  sure  as  there  is  a  God  in  heaven, 
will  not  submit  to.  Sooner  than  yield  to  the  arbitrary  dictates  of  trai- 
torous allies  and  false  friends  who  have  proven  recreant  to  the  solemn 
obligations  of  the  old  Constitution,  we  will  either  secede  from  the  Union 
and  form  a  separate  government,  or  .upon  certain  conditions  at  once 
return  to  the  allegiance  of  Great  Britain,  our  mother  country.' 

"  Here  again  is  no  allusion  to  Harper's  Ferry,  but  he  proposes  to 
secede  because  of  the  success  of  the  Republican  party,  which  was 
'  made  '  by  the  Kansas  struggle. 

"The  '  Political  Cyclopedia'  says  that  '  Kansas,  it  might  be  said, 


480  THE    KANSAS    CONFLICT. 

cleared  the  stage  for  the  last  act  of  the  drama,  the  Rebellion  ;  '  that  the 
Kansas  struggle  was  the  '  prelude  to  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.'  One 
more  question  remains  to  be  considered:  If  the  success  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  made  by  the  Kansas  struggle,  was  the  immediate  cause  of 
secession,  war,  and  consequent  emancipation,  did  the  Harper's  Ferry 
raid  contribute  to  that  success?  This  question  must  be  answered  most 
decidedly  in  the  negative.  This  same  Cyclopedia  says  that  'the  North 
almost  unianmously  condemned  the  whole  insurrection,'  while  it  is  well 
known  that  from  every  stump  during  the  Lincoln  campaign  it  was  most 
vehemently  denounced.  The  Republican  party,  that  there  might  be  no 
mistaking  its  position,  adopted  this  resolution  in  its  national  platform : 

' '  Resolved,  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  rights  of  the  States, 
and  especially  the  right  of  each  State  to  order  and  control  its  own  do- 
mestic institutions  according  to  its  judgment  exclusively,  is  essential  to 
the  balance  of  power  on  which  the  perfection  and  endurance  of  our  po- 
litical fabric  depends,  and  we  denounce  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed 
force  of  the  soil  of  any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under  what  pre- 
text, as  among  the  gravest  crimes.' 

"  After  the  election,  President  Lincoln,  in  his  inaugural  address, 
quoted  this  resolution,  and  added :  '  I  now  reiterate  these  sentiments, 
and,  in  doing  so,  I  only  press  upon  the  public  attention  the  most  con- 
clusive evidence  of  which  the  case  is  susceptible,  that  the  prosperity, 
peace,  and  security  of  no  section  are  to  be  in  anywise  endangered  by 
the  new  incoming  Administration.' 

"  Can  it  be  possible  that  the  effect  of  such  a  raid  as  that  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  almost  '  unanimously  denounced  by  the  whole  North,'  especially 
denounced  in  the  platform  of  the  party,  and  the  denunciations  reiterated 
by  its  candidate,  could  be  to  aid  in  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln?  To 
ask  such  a  question  is  to  answer  it.  Not  only  did  the  raid  not  help  the 
Republicans,  but  as  soon  as  the  facts  were  developed  it  did  not  frighten 
the  South.  The  pro-slavery  members  of  the  Senate  Investigating  Com- 
mittee, Mason,  Davis,  Fitch,  say  that  not  a  single  slave  could  be  induced 
to  voluntarily  join  the  raiders,  and  when  arms  were  put  in  their  hands 
they  refused  to  use  them,  and  escaped  from  their  captors  as  soon  as^hey 
could  do  so  witli  safety. 

"The  Republican  members  of  this  committee,  Collamer  and  Doo- 
little,  said  that  '  the  lessons  which  it  teaches  furnish  many  considera- 
tions of  security  against  its  repetition.  The  fatal  termination  of  the 
enterprise  in  the  death  and  execution  of  so  large  a  part  of  the  number 
engaged  ;  the  dispersion  of  the  small  remainder  as  fugitives  in  the  land  ; 
the  entire  disinclination  of  the  slaves  to  insurrection,  or  to  receive  aid 
for  that  purpose,  which  was  there  exhibited ;"  the  very  limited  number 
and  peculiar  character  of  the  conspirators — all  combine  to  furnish  as- 
surance against  the  most  distant  probability  of  its  repetition.'  It  is  evi- 


BENEFITS    TO    THE    SOUTH.  481 

dent,  from  all  the  facts  in  the  case,  that  this  raid  not  only  did  not  help, 
but  hindered  the  Republican  cause,  and  that  it  did  not  have  a  feather's 
weight  in  causing  the  Rebellion  or  the  destruction  of  slavery  in  conse- 
quence of  it. 

"  Let  us  reverse  the  picture  for  a  moment.  Suppose,  instead  of  a 
free  State,  a  slave  State  had  been  secured  in  Kansas,  with  the  power  to 
extend  the  institution  at  will,  into  all  the  Territories.  Suppose,  as  a 
consequence,  the  Kansas  struggle  had  not  '  made '  a  victorious  Repub- 
lican party  in  1860,  but  had  secured  the  election  of  Breckenridge,  the 
Southern  candidate  for  President.  Would  the  South  have  then  seceded, 
and  would  slavery  have  been  abolished?  And  would  either  event  have 
transpired  in  consequence  of  the  Harper's  Ferry  raid,  or  five  hundred 
such  raids?  Cook  had  been  at  Harper's  Ferry  some  twelve  months, 
and  Brown  and  his  followers  four  or  five  months,  and  yet  not  a  slave 
had  been  enlisted  for  the  crusade  by  either.  How  much  effect  would 
such  a  raid  have  to  produce  secession  or  the  abolition  of  slavery,  with 
Kansas  and  the  Federal  Government  in  the  secure  possession  of  the 
South? 

"  No,  no;  the  flood-tide  of  slavery  extension  received  its  first  perma- 
nent check  in  Kansas,  and  it  was  the  refluent  wave  from  her  borders 
that  carried  Abraham  Lincoln  into  the  White  House,  drove  the  South 
into  rebellion,  and  buried  slavery  so  deep  that  for  it  there  can  be  no 
resurrection.  Not  only  is  the  State  of  Kansas  thus  indebted  to  the  Ter- 
ritory, but  the  late  slave  States  that  contended  so  earnestly  to  extend 
their  peculiar  institution  are  doubly  indebted.  These  States  have  not 
only  been  redeemed  from  a  blighting  curse,  but  have  been  prospered  in 
every  way  as  never  before  in  their  history.  So  general  and  widespread 
is  their  prosperity,  that  so  far  as  known  not  a  citizen  can  be  found  in 
the  entire  South  who  would  re-establish  slavery  if  he  could.  But  the 
blessings  resulting  from  the  -territorial  struggle  do  not  stop  here,  for 
the  nation  itself  has  been  born  again,  with  that  birth  which  brings  with 
it  '  peace  on  earth,  and  good-will  to  men. '  The  old  contentions,  bitter- 
ness, and  irrepressible  conflict  between  the  North  and  South  have  given 
place  to  mutual  respect,  love,  and  good-will.  The  United  States  now 
constitute  a  Union  in  reality  as  well  as  in  name,  with  like  institutions, 
like  aspirations,  and  a  common  destiny.  Our  Union,  thus  cemented, 
has  become  the  envy  of  all  nations,  and  a  terror  to  all  enemies.  The 
freest,  happiest,  and  most  prosperous  people  on  the  globe,  we  have  be- 
come a  place  of  refuge  for  the  oppressed  of  all  nations.  Such  being  the 
result  of  the  territorial  conflict,  well  may  the  contestants  embrace  each 
other  on  the  twenty-fifth  birthday  of  this  wonderful  State,  and  hence- 
forth dwell  together  in  unity,  under  a  Government  that  knows  no 
North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West,  but  that  is  '  one  and  inseparable, 
now  and  forever. '  " 
31 


APPENDIX. 

CORRESPONDENCE   ABOUT   JOHN    BROWN. 

SANBORN   TO    LAWRENCE. 

CONCORD,  MASSACHUSETTS,  January  26,  1885. 
Amos  A.  Lawrence,  Esq.,  Brooklinc : 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  In  your  attack  on  John  Brown  at  the  Historical 
Society,  May  8,  1884,  you  contrasted  him  very  unfavorably  with  Charles 
Robinson,  who,  you  said,  "  was  in  every  respect  worthy  of  the  confi- 
dence reposed  in  him  by  the  settlers  (of  Kansas),  and  by  the  Emigrant 
Society."  If  you  still  think  so  highly  of  him,  you  will  doubtless  take 
pleasure  in  submitting  to  the  Historical  Society  the  following  letter  from 
Robinson  to  Judge  Hamvay,  of  Lane,  Kansas,  which  he  wrote  about 
six  years  ago,  and  before  he  found  it  expedient  to  disown  all  his  former 
opinions  concerning  Brown.  I  copy  from  a  copy  sent  me  by  a  member 
of  the  Kansas  Historical  Society,  on  whose  files  the  original  letter  of 
Robinson  now  stands : 

(Copy.) 

"  LAWRENCE,  February  5,  1878. 
"Hon.  James  ffanway : 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  Your  favor  of  3oth  ult.  is  received.  I  am  also  in  receipt 
of  a  letter  on  the  same  subject  from  Mr.  Adams.  I  never  had  much 
doubt  that  Captain  Brown  was  the  author  of  the  blow  at  Potawatomie, 
for  the  reason  that  he  was  the  only  man  who  comprehended  the  situa- 
tion and  saw  the  absolute  necessity  of  some  such  blow,  and  had  the 
nerve  to  strike  it.  I  will  improve  my  first  leisure  to  put  on  paper  my 
views  of  the  situation  at  that  time,  and  forward  them  to  Mr.  Adams. 

"  Very  truly, 
(Signed)  "  C.  KOHINSON."  . 

The  Mr.  Adams  here  mentioned  is  F.  G.  Adams,  the  secretary  of  the 
State  Historical  Society,  whom  you  perhaps  know,  as  I  do.  On  the 
2oth  of  August,  1878,  Mr.  Adams  (who  had  doubtless  heard  from 
Charles  Robinson  in  the  six  months  since  the  date  of  his  letter  above 
cited)  wrote  to  me  as  follows : 

"  Governor  Robinson  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  will  be  some 


APPENDIX.  483 

time  proven  that  Captain  Brown  was  present  at  the  affair  (of  Potawa 
tomie).  He  thinks  the  act  was  a  justifiable  and  necessary  one  :  that 
the  act  did  in  fact  have  the  effect  to  check  the  career  of  wholesale  mur- 
der, which  the  pro-slavery  men  had  entered  upon  and  intended  to  kill  or 
to  drive  from  Kansas  every  out-spoken  Free-State  man  in  the  Territory." 

The  original  letter  of  Mr.  Adams  lies  before  me  as  I  write.  What 
he  thus  quotes  as  Robinson's  opinion  of  Brown's  act  is  the  same  to 
which  Robinson  gave  utterance  at  Osawatomie  in  the  summer  of  1877, 
in  a  public  speech,  which  has  been  reported  to  me  by  two  Kansas  gen- 
tlemen who  heard  it.  It  is  also  the  same  that  Robinson  expressed  in 
a  public  speech  at  Lawrence  in  the  winter  of  1859—60,  a  printed  report 
of  which  is  also  on  file  in  the  Kansas  Historical  rooms,  Topeka.  I 
printed  in  the  Transcript  of  December  4,  1884  (which  I  sent  you),  Rob- 
inson's letter  of  September  14,  1856,  commending  Brown  in  the  highest 
terms.  These  letters  and  speeches  show  that  from  1856  to  1878  Charles 
Robinson  took  the  same  view  of  Brown's  action  on  the  Potawatomie 
that  I  now  take,  and  by  no  means  your  views. 

May  I  rely  on  your  candor  to  state  this  to  the  Historical  Society? 

Yours  truly, 

F.  B.  SANBORN. 

ROBINSON   TO    LAWRENCE.  * 

LAWRENCE,  February  6,  1885. 


//<>;?.  A.  A. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  favor  enclosing  a  letter  from  F.  B.  Sanborn  is 
received. 

If  Mr.  Sanborn  had  read  my  letters  published  in  the  Boston  Trans- 
cript of  June  12  and  August  15,  1884,  he  would  have  been  saved  the 
trouble  of  writing  his  letter  of  the  26th  ult.  In  the  Transcript  of  June 
12  I  say: 

"  Until  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Townsley  appeared,  many  Free-State 
men  apologized  for  the  massacre  on  the  ground  that  the  men  killed  were 
worthy  of  death  for  their  crimes.  With  these  apologies  I  sympathized, 
supposing  what  Redpath  and  others  said  was  true.  This  was  the  testi- 
mony on  which  the  case  chiefly  rested  till  Townsley's  was  given.  Had 
Redpath's  statements  proved  true  as  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  the 
men  killed,  I  should  have  continued  to  apologize  for  the  men  who  com- 
mitted the  deed,  although  it  never  could  be  justified.  But  I  have  now 
become  satisfied  that  Redpath's  account  is  all  fiction,  except  the  state- 
ment that  the  men  were  killed.  I  believe  these  men  had  committed  no 
crime,  and  had  threatened  to  commit  none.  Townsley's  statement  that 
Brown  wanted  him  to  go  up  the  creek  five  or  six  miles  and  point  out 
the  cabins  of  all  the  pro-slavery  men  that  they  might  make  a  clean 


484  APPENDIX. 

sweep  as  they  came  down,  shows  conclusively  that  he  was  ready  to  kill 
any  pro-slavery  man,  guilty  or  not  guilty,  and  hence  shows  that  his  pur- 
pose was  to  inaugurate  war,  and  not  to  make  a  free  State." 

Also  in  that  paper  of  August  15  I  wrote  as  follows  : 

"  For  Mr.  Sanborn's  information,  I  will  say  that  I  entertain  no 
malice  towards  his  hero,  have  apologized  for  him  probably  a  thousand 
times,  and  never  lifted  a  finger  to  oppose  any  honors  to  his  memory  by 
the  State  or  nation.  While  I  believed  the  men  butchered  were  bad  men, 
belligerents  as  described  by  Redpath  and  others,  I  excused  the  killing 
as  best  I  could,  and  contemplated  writing  out  a  statement  to  be  filed 
with  our  Historical  Society,  setting  forth  the  outrages  committed  by 
these  and  similar  men.  But  before  I  found  the  time  to  write  this  state- 
ment I  became  satisfied  from  new  and  conclusive  evidence  that  these 
men  were  innocent  of  all  crime  or  threatened  crime,  and  that  their  tak- 
ing off  was  not  intended  for  the  protection  of  Free-State  men  from  their 
outrages  and  such  as  theirs,  but  was  intended  by  Brown  as  an  act  of 
offensive  war.  When  I  became  satisfied  on  these  points,  I  abandoned 
the  work  and  ceased  apologies  for  Brown." 

In  your  remarks  before  the  Historical  Society  you  say  John  Brown 
"  deceived  everybody,"  and  also  that  when  the  truth  with  all  the  proofs 
should  be  published,  as  they  soon  would  be,  "  there  can  be  no  such 
statements  made  as  have  deceived  nearly  a  whole  generation." 

It  is  a  sufficient  answer  to  Sanborn  that  I  with  others  was  deceived 
until  after  the  time  referred  to  by  him.  When  this  massacre  occurred 
I  had  been  absent  from  the  Territory  and  a  prisoner  some  two  weeks, 
and  knew  nothing  whatever  of  the  situation  in  the  Potawatomie  region. 
1  was  told  that  the  pro-slavery  men  there  had  inaugurated  a  war  uf 
extermination  of  the  Free-State  settlers,  and  that  this  massacre  had 
put  a  stop  to  it.  This  was  uncontradicted,  and  I  had  every  reason  t<> 
suppose  there  was  some  foundation  in  fact  for  such  statements  as  wero 
made. 

The  quotation  from  Mr.  Adams  by  Sanborn  in  his  letter  showed 
conclusively  that  when  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Adams  I  had  not  been  undo 
ceived.  He  reports  me  as  thinking  "  that  the  act  (at  Potawatomie)  did 
in  fact  have  the  effect  to  check  the  career  of  wholesale  murder  which 
the  pro-slavery  men  had  entered  upon,  intending  to  kill  or  drive  from 
Kansas  every  out-spoken  Free-State  man  in  the  Territory." 

In  the  Hanway  letter  I  say,  "  I  will  improve  my  first  leisure  to  put 
on  paper  my  views  of  the  situation  at  the  time."  What  were  my  views 
of  the  situation?  Adams's  letter  says  that  I  thought  a  "career  of 
wholesale  murder  had  been  entered  upon,  intending  to  kill  or  drive  from 
Kansas  every  out-spoken  man  in  the  Territory." 

Had  that  view  proved  correct,  my  apologies  for  Brown  would  have 
continued,  but  unfortunately  it  has  no  foundation  in  fact,  and  the  con- 


APPENDIX.  485 

elusion  is  inevitable  that  John  Brown  by  that  act  intended  to  "  involve 
the  sections  in  war  "  and  not  to  protect  Free-State  men. 

My  view  now  is,  after  investigation,  that  not  a  man  had  been  killed 
south  of  Douglas  County  up  to  that  date ;  that  the  men  killed  by  Brown 
had  committed  no  crime,  and  threatened  to  commit  none ;  and  that ' 
Brown  was  ready  to  kill  any  pro-slavery  man  he  could  find  simply  be- 
cause he  was  pro-slavery.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  this  change  of 
view  of  the  situation  has  completely  changed  my  view  of  Brown  and 
the  Potawatomie  "  affair." 

Until  after  the  date  of  the  Hanway  letter  I  had  made  no  investiga- 
tion into  the  matter,  and  apologized  for  the  massacre  as  best  I  could. 
But  as  soon  as  an  honest  and  impartial  investigation  was  made  the  case 
was  wholly  changed.  Instead  of  these  men  being  criminals  they  had 
not  even  threatened  to  commit  a  crime,  and  as  there  was  no  war  of  ex- 
termination contemplated  by  them,  no  such  war  had  been  stopped  by 
their  massacre.  These  are  the  facts,  as  I  have  no  doubt,  and  facts 
brought  out  by  non-partisan  and  disinterested  investigators,  and  I  am 
obliged,  if  honest,  to  accept  them,  whatever  may  have  been  my  previous 
opinion.  The  speech  he  refers  to  as  made  at  Osawatomie  was  made  at 
Paola  the  evening  after  the  meeting  at  Osawatomie,  and  was  simply  an 
apology  based  upon  a  state  of  facts  which  1  supposed  existed,  but  which 
now  I  am  satisfied  did  not.  I  made  such  apologies  all  through  the 
Fremont  campaign  in  answer  to  Democratic  criticism,  and  made  them 
honestly,  as  honestly  as  I  now  retract  them.  The  letter  of  the  I4th  of 
September,  1856,  if  genuine,  was  called  out  by  Brown's  action  in  de- 
fending Osawatomie,  as  Sanborn  has  already  stated,  and  could  have  had 
no  reference  to  the  Potawatomie  massacre,  as  up  to  that  time  everybody 
denied  Brown's  connection  with  it.  By  the  way,  if  Sanborn  thinks  it  a 
disgrace  to  admit  a  mistake  on  discovery  of  new  facts,  what  does  he 
think  of  himself?  Until  long  after  Brown's  death,  Sanborn  and  all 
Brown's  family  and  partisans  denied  that  he  was  connected  with  or  re- 
sponsible for  the  Potawatomie  massacre.  Sanborn  in  his  magazine  ar- 
ticle says,  "  that  he  was  actually  present,  he  (Brown)  always  denied  to 
me,  and  I  shall  believe  him  until  some  eye-witness  proves  the  contrary." 
R.  J.  Hinton,  in  the  Boston  Traveller,  December  3,  1859,  says: 
"  Brown  told  me  he  was  not  a  participator  in  the  Potawatomie  homicide. 
John  Brown  was  incapable  of  uttering  a  falsehood." 

John  Brown's  brother,  J.  R.  Brown,  in  the  Cleveland  Plaindealer 
of  November  22,  1859,  says:  "  My  brother,  at  the  time  William  Doyle 
and  others  were  killed,  was  not  present,  did  not  consent  to  the  act,  nor 
had  any  knowledge  of  it,  and  was  eighteen  miles  distant  at  the  time  of 
the  occurrence.  I  have  this  account  from  my  brother  and  his  two  sons  ; 
also  from  a  sister  and  brother-in-law,  now  living  in  Kansas,  who  had 
personal  knowledge  of  this  transaction." 


486  APPENDIX. 

John  Brown,  while  in  prison,  awaiting  execution,  told  M.  B.  Lowry 
that  "  G.  W.  Brown  lies  when  he  represents  me  as  connected  with  those 
murders." 

John  Brown,  while  in  prison,  told  the  Valandingham  party  that  called 
upon  him:  "I  killed  no  man  (in  Kansas)  except  in  fair  fight.  I 
fought  at  Black  Jack  Point  and  Osawatomie,  and  if  I  killed  anybody  it 
was  at  these  places." 

Thomas  Drew,  in  his  compilation  of  1860,  says:  "  His  (Brown's) 
participation  in  the  affair  is  denied,  not  only  by  himself,  but  by  many 
witnesses  who  lived  in  the  Territory  at  that  time  and  had  the  best  means 
of  knowing  who  were  the  real  perpetrators  of  the  Potawatomie  murders." 

Redpath,  in  his  "  Life  of  John  Brown,"  1860,  says,  page  119:  "  John 
Brown  did  not  know  that  these  men  were  killed  until  the  following 
day;  for,  with  one  of  his  sons,  he  was  twenty-five  miles  distant  at  the 
time.  He  was  at  Middle  Creek.  This  fact  can  be  proved  by  living 
witnesses." 

Also  in  his  letter  to  the  New  York  Tribune,  November  5,  1859,  he 
says:  "  I  assert  solemnly  and  with  a  knowledge  of  the  fact,  that  old 
John  Brown  was  more  than  sixteen  miles  distant  when  Doyle  and  his 
fellow-ruffians  were  justly  killed.  A  man  who  participated  in  the  kill- 
ing of  these  murderers  confessed  the  particulars  of  the  transaction  to  me." 

A  correspondent  in  the  New  York  Tribune  of  March  20,  1860,  re- 
ports as  follows:  "  John  Brown,  Jr.,  in  a  lecture  at  Gustavus,  Trum- 
Imll  f-'ounty,  Ohio,  March  I,  1860,  denied  that  his  father  was  present  at 
the  killing  of  the  Doyles,  etc.,  or  had  any  knowledge  of  it  until  the  deed 
was  done.  He  said  that  his  father  went  down  to  the  grave  with  the 
odium  of  the  act  because,  as  the  old  man  said,  for  him  to  deny  it  pub- 
licly would  seem  to  cast  an  imputation  on  the  men  who  did  kill  the  ruf- 
fians." 

But  enough  ;  I  might  add  indefinitely  statements  of  similar  purport 
from  Brown  and  his  relatives  and  frieuds.  That  they  all  denied  in  the 
most  direct  and  positive  terms  his  participation  in  and  responsibility  for 
that  massacre  no  person  will  question,  yet  Mr.  Townsley,  an  eye-wit- 
ness, whose  testimony  is  unimpeached  and  unimpeachable,  says:  "Af- 
ter my  team  was  fed  and  the  party  had  taken  supper,  John  Brown  told 
me  for  the  first  time  what  he  proposed  to  do.  He  said  he  wanted  me 
to  pilot  the  company  up  the  forks  of  the  creek,  some  five  or  six  miles 
above,  into  the  neighborhood  where  I  lived,  and  show  them  where  all 
the  pro-slavery  men  resided  ;  that  he  proposed  to  sweep  the  crock  as  lie 
came  down  of  all  the  pro-slavery  men  living  on  it.  I  positively  refused 
to  do  it.  *  *  *  The  old  man  Doyle  ami  two  sons  were  called  out 
and  marched  some  distance  from  the  house  towards  Dutch  Henry's  in 
the  road,  where  a  halt  was  made.  Old  John  Brown  drew  his  revolver 
and  shot  the  old  man  Doyle  in  the  forehead,  and  Brown's  two  youngest 


APPENDIX.  487 

sons  immediately  fell  upon  the  younger  Doyles  with  their  short,  two- 
edged  swords."  After  this  testimony  of  Townsley's  was  published, 
and  after  consultation  with  John  Brown,  Jr.,  and  Owen  Brown,  Mr. 
Sanborn  wrote  to  John  Hutchings,  of  Lawrence,  as  follows  : 

"  PUT-IN-BAY,  OHIO,  August  29,  1882. 
"  John  Hu tellings,  Esq.  : 

"  I  have  talked  with  the  Browns  about  Townsley's  statement.  In 
the  main  it  is  true. 

"  F.  B.  SANBORN." 

If  history  furnishes  a  parallel  to  the  cold-blooded,  unblushing,  persist- 
ent, and  unscrupulous  lying  of  John  Brown,  his  family,  and  friends,  I 
have  not  discovered  it ;  yet  it  is  of  such  men  some  people  make  heroes. 

And  why  not?  Sanborn  himself  belongs  to  the  same  school.  In  a 
letter  to  the  Boston  Transcript  recently,  he  said  Colonel  Sam  Walker 
told  him  that  "  shortly  before  the  Potawatomie  affair  he  was  taken  aside 
by  Governor  Robinson  and  General  Lane,  and  it  was  proposed  to  him 
to  go  down  in  the  Potawatomie  country  and  secretly  kill  the  border  ruf- 
fians there." 

Colonel  Walker  has  written  me  that  he  "  did  not  say  so."  Neither 
does  he  say  that  I  ever  had  any  such  conversation  with  him.  Really,  if 
a  person  who  can  make  a  hero  of  a  man  who  went  to  the  gallows  with  a 
lie  upon  his  lips,  and  glorify  a  family  who  persisted  in  lying  for  nearly 
thirty  years,  and  who  can  himself  manufacture  lies  to  order  out  of  whole 
cloth  on  occasion — if  such  a  man  is  shocked  at  a  person  who  changes 
his  views  only  when  a  new  discovery  of  facts  warrants  the  change,  he 
must  be  peculiarly  sensitive.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  but  few  such 
characters  are  to  be  found  outside  of  the  Concord  School  of  Philosophy. 

It  is  announced  that  Mr.  Sanborn  is  about  to  publish  a  book  on  John 
Brown,  and  he  will  doubtless  publish  these  letters.  Can  we  rely  on  his 
candor  to  publish  this  statement  of  mine  with  them?  We  shall  see. 

Very  truly, 

C.  ROBINSON. 


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